surreal

adjective

Definition of surrealnext
as in irrational
very strange or unusual; having the quality of a dream a surreal atmosphere at the festival The whole situation was completely surreal.

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of surreal Larry David has built one of the greatest careers in comedy out of his own hyperfixations, particular neuroses, and the surreal situations these often lead him into. — Jon Blistein, Rolling Stone, 13 Oct. 2026 In a surreal twist, the donor male mouse had the chance to meet its female clones. — Gennaro Tomma, Scientific American, 13 Oct. 2026 Stepping onto the train felt surreal, an experience previously confined to my trips aboard. — Sophia Dyer, Condé Nast Traveler, 12 Oct. 2026 Coming home to a hostile crowd had to feel surreal … and things only got weirder from there. — Tyler Estep, AJC.com, 12 Oct. 2026 See All Example Sentences for surreal
Recent Examples of Synonyms for surreal
  1. irrational
  2. weird
  3. strange
  4. unreasonable
  5. absurd
  6. unusual
  7. meaningless
  8. unreasoning
Adjective
  • Giving any person a $100 million contract to coach a college athletic team is irrational.
    — Letters to the Editor, The Orlando Sentinel, 28 Oct. 2026
  • The industrial revolutions of the past produced enormous value alongside bankruptcies, dislocations, and periods of irrational exuberance.
    — Brian Solis, Forbes.com, 5 Oct. 2026
Definition of irrational
Adjective
  • In the meantime, her public persona has, frankly, grown weirder.
    — Emma Madden, Pitchfork, 28 Oct. 2026
  • When Henderson walked into the shed that day, a weird, white, papier-mâché creature on the shelf caught his eye.
    — Laura Zornosa, Los Angeles Times, 28 Oct. 2026
Definition of weird
Adjective
  • After Orson’s reading from the novel, the broadcast cuts in on a weather report that is then followed by a dance music concert, but the smooth tango music is interrupted by breaking news of strange explosions on Mars.
    — Encyclopedia Britannica, Encyclopedia Britannica, 23 Oct. 2026
  • However, a strange light phenomenon and the arrival of her physicist ex-husband pull her back into the scientific world.
    — Cooper Katz McKim, NPR, 23 Oct. 2026
Definition of strange
Adjective
  • On the surface, paying as low as 24 cents for an hour of streaming game time doesn’t sound completely unreasonable.
    — Kyle Orland, ArsTechnica, 21 Oct. 2026
  • If Putin rejects the framework — or, more likely, demands unreasonable changes — then the world will at least know who blocked the fledgling peace effort.
    — David Ignatius, Washington Post, 21 Oct. 2026
Definition of unreasonable
Adjective
  • Maybe that’s an absurd quibble, though, for a series that is proudly manufactured from the very beginning.
    — Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 28 Oct. 2026
  • There's no luck in baseball, because everything must have an explanation, no matter how absurd.
    — Ian Miller OutKick, FOXNews.com, 27 Oct. 2026
Definition of absurd
Adjective
  • And now Great Question will, hopefully CBS News thinks, bring that voice to new places, in a digital expansion that is unusual for an evening news anchor.
    — Alex Weprin, HollywoodReporter, 23 Oct. 2026
  • But the book walks the reader through Raichlen’s unusual path to becoming a food writer obsessed with the art of barbecuing.
    — Katelyn Umholtz, Kansas City Star, 23 Oct. 2026
Definition of unusual
Adjective
  • Advertisement That does not make the markets emerging around lionfish, green crab, ta’ape, and carp meaningless.
    — Victoria Malloy, Time, 21 Oct. 2026
  • Quantum Systems That doesn't make the flight of the Apex Recordhunter a meaningless milestone.
    — David Szondy October 20, New Atlas, 21 Oct. 2026
Definition of meaningless
Adjective
  • But in each event—in the living act, the undoubted deed—there, some unknown but still reasoning thing puts forth the mouldings of its features from behind the unreasoning mask.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 6 July 2026
  • Roosevelt surely understood that nameless, unreasoning, unjustified fear cannot be eradicated.
    — New York Times, New York Times, 9 June 2026
Definition of unreasoning

Browse Nearby Words

surprisingly
surreal
surreality
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Cite this Entry

“Surreal.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/surreal. Accessed 29 Oct. 2026.

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