as in surreal
seeming to exist in a dream; like a dream
Her photographs have a dreamlike quality.
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Recent Examples of dreamlike
Shame and Money does have striking, violent moments towards the end, but Morina also leaves us wondering if those are actual incidents or something more symbolic and dreamlike.
—
Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 31 Jan. 2026
Later novels routinely took inspiration from family members or former or current lovers; the 1980 novel that baffled Frank Kermode is a dreamlike fable about a man guiltily trying to have an extramarital affair.
—Christopher Tayler, Harpers Magazine, 27 Jan. 2026
Is there another book at once so good and so bad, so thrilling and so boring, so authentic to the currents of the soul and so hideously contrived, so stunningly patrolled by dreamlike visions and so crushed by its own intellectual baggage?
—James Parker, The Atlantic, 27 Jan. 2026
The ceremony was complete with dreamlike floral arrangements and multi-colored smoke bombs that fired after the lovebirds exchanged their vows.
—Tabitha Parent, PEOPLE, 21 Jan. 2026
Pink Siifu appears briefly, then dissipates into the album’s dreamlike drift.
—Petala Ironcloud, Pitchfork, 20 Jan. 2026
First, his images of dreamlike whimsy are usually contained within a pleasing symmetry—they’re very Wes Anderson but in black and white.
—Air Mail, 17 Jan. 2026
Debuting during Miami Art Week at the Miami Design District, the exhibition unfolded across two rooms, drawing from Afrofuturist language and the dreamlike aesthetic of The Wiz.
—Okla Jones, Essence, 15 Jan. 2026
In movies like Sátántangó, Werckmeister Harmonies, and his extraordinary swan song, 2011’s The Turin Horse, the Hungarian filmmaker crafted dreamlike narratives populated with disillusioned, spiritually bereft characters facing harsh realities.
—Tim Grierson, Rolling Stone, 6 Jan. 2026
Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 31 Jan. 2026
Later novels routinely took inspiration from family members or former or current lovers; the 1980 novel that baffled Frank Kermode is a dreamlike fable about a man guiltily trying to have an extramarital affair.
—Christopher Tayler, Harpers Magazine, 27 Jan. 2026
Is there another book at once so good and so bad, so thrilling and so boring, so authentic to the currents of the soul and so hideously contrived, so stunningly patrolled by dreamlike visions and so crushed by its own intellectual baggage?
—James Parker, The Atlantic, 27 Jan. 2026
The ceremony was complete with dreamlike floral arrangements and multi-colored smoke bombs that fired after the lovebirds exchanged their vows.
—Tabitha Parent, PEOPLE, 21 Jan. 2026
Pink Siifu appears briefly, then dissipates into the album’s dreamlike drift.
—Petala Ironcloud, Pitchfork, 20 Jan. 2026
First, his images of dreamlike whimsy are usually contained within a pleasing symmetry—they’re very Wes Anderson but in black and white.
—Air Mail, 17 Jan. 2026
Debuting during Miami Art Week at the Miami Design District, the exhibition unfolded across two rooms, drawing from Afrofuturist language and the dreamlike aesthetic of The Wiz.
—Okla Jones, Essence, 15 Jan. 2026
In movies like Sátántangó, Werckmeister Harmonies, and his extraordinary swan song, 2011’s The Turin Horse, the Hungarian filmmaker crafted dreamlike narratives populated with disillusioned, spiritually bereft characters facing harsh realities.
—Tim Grierson, Rolling Stone, 6 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for dreamlike
Adjective
-
Babu describes their first day filming as surreal.—
Naman Ramachandran,
Variety,
3 Feb. 2026
-
In many neighborhoods of Chicago, the scene was surreal early that Groundhog Day morning.—
Adam Harrington,
CBS News,
2 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
From their first encounter, the fantastic Petrova holds her ground, playing Iris with assured pluckiness.—
Carlos Aguilar,
Variety,
31 Jan. 2026
-
The restaurant Harvest is fantastic and jointly led by chefs John Amann and Chris Schuetta.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
31 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
Personal style runs the most gigantic gamut among nominees, presenters, performers, and guests, so that means the Grammy red carpet offers an incredible range of hair, makeup, and nail inspiration.—
Marci Robin,
Allure,
2 Feb. 2026
-
Femina is an incredible achievement and the world is better for it.—
Gabrielle Bellot,
Literary Hub,
2 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
Why would someone dig such a bizarre underground hideout?—
Maria Mocerino,
Interesting Engineering,
1 Feb. 2026
-
Well, what happened next was pretty bizarre.—
Tom Margenau,
Dallas Morning News,
1 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Dreamlike.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/dreamlike. Accessed 5 Feb. 2026.
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