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 The setting is surreal and the events are the literal definition of stranger than fiction. — Jesse Whittock, Deadline, 27 Oct. 2026 But the stand-alone fragment, in the seeming spirit of Franz Kafka’s surreal and unsettling fiction, links success to misery, and happiness to death. — Robert S. Levine, The Conversation, 26 Oct. 2026 Having spent their youth dreaming of taking their music beyond Maryland and Ohio, bringing it home to invigorate the place that shaped them was a surreal feat. — Leena Tailor, SPIN, 23 Oct. 2026 But those unfamiliar with his surreal talk show appearances, Dumb Starbucks or Door City, here’s a primer on the origin and rise of Fielder. — Jenelle Riley, Los Angeles Times, 22 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
  • Because the entire system is rewarded by doing more, investments in prevention are financially irrational.
    — Paul Markovich, STAT, 2 Nov. 2026
  • There’s nothing irrational about voters demanding more from a state where a third of the work force is unemployed and ranks highest in the World Bank inequality index.
    — Tiisetso Motsoeneng, semafor.com, 2 Nov. 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
  • Alexi’s script gets to the heart of the strange, necessary bonds between humans and animals.
    — Alex Ritman, Variety, 30 Oct. 2026
  • Something in the movement of his hands, too fast, too smooth, too precise, and something in the play of the light and shadow across his knuckles, reveals that something strange is at work.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 30 Oct. 2026
Definition of strange
Adjective
  • That triggers First Amendment protection, and that means there cannot be viewpoint discrimination or unreasonable restrictions that are inconsistent with the speech activities imposed on the journalists.
    — Ted Johnson, Deadline, 30 Oct. 2026
  • Frimpong concluded that plaintiffs were likely to prove the practice violated the 4th Amendment’s protection against unreasonable seizures and the 5th Amendment’s guarantee of equal protection.
    — Brittny Mejia, Los Angeles Times, 29 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
  • The order of events in the Weeks recusal was somewhat unusual.
    — Emerson Clarridge, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 31 Oct. 2026
  • Scheels argued this year that the Ada County Assessor’s Office had overvalued its unusual building.
    — Idaho Statesman, Idaho Statesman, 30 Oct. 2026
Definition of unusual
Adjective
  • Each seemingly meaningless twitch signals a bid worth between $50,000 and $100,000, depending on the auctioneer’s ask.
    — Dana O’Neil, CNN Money, 30 Oct. 2026
  • Employees were reportedly running AI agents on meaningless tasks to inflate their token count and climb an unofficial internal AI leaderboard called Kirorank.
    — Mia Osmonbekov, Fortune, 28 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 4 Nov. 2026.

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