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
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Recent Examples of surreal
The film follows André on a surreal commute, carrying a piano strapped to his back and a notebook filled with sketches.
—
Spin Staff,
SPIN,
19 June 2026
It’s been a very surreal experience, going from working on something for 10 years to going to the premiere to the movie being in theaters tonight.
—
Emma Specter,
Vogue,
19 June 2026
And that, ladies and gentlemen, has to be one of the most surreal paragraphs ever printed in The New York Times.
—
Maureen Dowd,
Mercury News,
18 June 2026
Among them was graduate Kamaree Haskins, who described the achievement as almost surreal.
—
Terrance Friday,
CBS News,
17 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for surreal
Spin Staff,
SPIN,
19 June 2026
It’s been a very surreal experience, going from working on something for 10 years to going to the premiere to the movie being in theaters tonight.
—
Emma Specter,
Vogue,
19 June 2026
And that, ladies and gentlemen, has to be one of the most surreal paragraphs ever printed in The New York Times.
—
Maureen Dowd,
Mercury News,
18 June 2026
Among them was graduate Kamaree Haskins, who described the achievement as almost surreal.
—
Terrance Friday,
CBS News,
17 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for surreal
Recent Examples of Synonyms for surreal
Adjective
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Economist Hyman Minsky spent his career explaining how irrational behavior produces fragility and instability in capitalist systems.
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McClanahan has been close enough to his usual production, but without an irrational need for perfection.
Adjective
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So, that was kind of quite weird.
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But storefronts across the city have long been weird hodgepodges, rife with misspellings and aesthetic incoherence.
Adjective
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Informal Beyblade battles are popping up in strangest of places, with players huddling in parks, gyms and shopping malls.
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The falseness of the medium, though, jibed with the falseness of most attempts, throughout American history, to make sense of this enormous, strange man.
Adjective
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According to the Aspen Institute, Norwegian leagues don’t keep score or track standings until the kids are 11 years old, which goes a long way toward eliminating many of the unreasonable pressures that developing athletes often experience in more hyper-competitive environments.
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Luca thinks Marcus is being unreasonable by adding a new ingredient to their dessert at the last minute and by asking Chester to run an errand in awful conditions.
Adjective
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Blending historical facts and patriotic myths, the works offer a vibrant, playful and sometimes absurd look at events like the signing of the Declaration of Independence and Washington crossing the Delaware.
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As tensions rise and panic sets in, the sisters are forced into a painful and increasingly absurd fight for survival before the homeowner returns.
Adjective
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What Trump is doing is unusual.
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Heat domes are not unusual, but the temperatures in this one have been.
Adjective
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Relatively meaningless but still badass.
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At its core, unlike those meaningless marketing terms, ‘regenerative,’ when used responsibly, is legitimately full of deep meaning and has the potential to make significant human and environmental change when adopted at scale.
Adjective
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Roosevelt surely understood that nameless, unreasoning, unjustified fear cannot be eradicated.
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Bainbridge knew about secrets and unreasoning shame.
Cite this Entry
“Surreal.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/surreal. Accessed 29 Jun. 2026.
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