surreal

adjective

sur·​re·​al sə-ˈrē(-ə)l 

 also  -ˈrā-əl

1

: marked by the intense irrational reality of a dream

also : unbelievable, fantastic

surreal sums of money

2

: surrealistic

surreality

(ˌ)sə-rē-ˈa-lə-tē 

noun

surreally adverb

Did you know?

In 1924 a group of European poets, painters, and filmmakers founded a movement that they called Surrealism. Their central idea was that the unconscious mind (a concept Sigmund Freud had recently made famous) was the source of all imagination, and that art should try to express its contents. The unconscious, they believed, revealed itself most clearly in dreams. The Surrealist painters included René Magritte, Joan Miró, and Salvador Dalí, whose "limp watches" painting became the best-known Surrealist image of all. Since those years, we've used surreal to describe all kinds of situations that strike us as dreamlike. And even though the Surrealist movement ended long ago, surrealism now seems to be everywhere—not just in painting, literature, and movies but also in blogs, video games, and graphic novels.

Example Sentences

Despite all the hassle, though, I would not want an ordinary name. I know of one other person in the world who shares my name, first and last. I know nothing about her except that she lived in New York at the same time I did, and that she and I subscribed to a few of the same publications. I found myself in the surreal position of having to explain to circulation departments that I was, in fact, me, and not that other version of me on the West Side. —Johnna Kaplan, Newsweek, 3 Mar. 2008

Films aren't just a part of life for people in India; they are a way of life. The over-the-top, surreal dance numbers in nearly every Bollywood film often make no sense in relation to the story, but no one seems to be complaining. —Shashank Samant, The Out Traveler, May/June 2005

The movie achieves a truly rare mix of the absurd, the surreal, and the heartfelt. Improbably, its wacked-out premise and structural hilarity concoct a melancholy meditation on love, loss, and memory, while delivering a message—subversive to our culture's therapeutic optimism—about the tragedy of healing. —Rand Richards Cooper, Commonweal, 23 Apr. 2004

The whole thing was completely surreal.

Recent Examples on the Web

Thursday’s draft selection, Smith said Friday, is no longer surreal. —Michael Gehlken, Dallas News, 29 Apr. 2023

The moments that followed the call were surreal, a blur of disbelief and panic. —Daniel Arkin, NBC News, 27 Apr. 2023

After Roe, the gory truth matters more than ever July 19, 2022 Created by acclaimed playwright and showrunner Alice Birch, and anchored by a riveting dual performance by Weisz, the series maintains the surreal, uncanny tone of the original film, which starred a deliciously sinister Jeremy Irons. —Meredith Blake, Los Angeles Times, 22 Apr. 2023

It's long been my favorite show on television, so to be working here now and see my name on the show is really surreal. —Vanessa Etienne, Peoplemag, 20 Apr. 2023

The choice felt surreal. —Carina Chocano, Harper's BAZAAR, 23 Mar. 2023

The encounter was mystical and surreal. —Ernie Cowan, San Diego Union-Tribune, 18 Mar. 2023

Having my brother there, his first time in America, and my future best man was just surreal! —Jordan Harvey, Peoplemag, 19 Apr. 2023

This new present-day scene with a connection to my family had offered a similar feeling of the surreal, with the darkness bathed in emergency lights and puzzle pieces of what had happened falling together. —Eric D. Lawrence, Detroit Free Press, 17 Apr. 2023

See More

Word History

Etymology

back-formation from surrealism

First Known Use

1937, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Video

2016 Word of the Year: Behind the Scenes

How we chose 'surreal'