as in illusion
a conception or image created by the imagination and having no objective reality
a sci-fi author who seems to have preferred the unrealities of his own fiction to the realities of the world about him
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of unreality
For Leader, this hammers home the unreality of a studio without an intense marketing machine around it.
—
Ryan Gaur, IndieWire, 10 June 2025
The movie itself is something of a trip; everything feels coated in a faint, menacing sheen of unreality, as if a slasher movie were just a wild twist or two away.
—Justin Chang, New Yorker, 16 May 2025
But as with its aww-shucks hero, there’s more to it than meets the eye; something much stranger lurks behind the slight Twilight Zone unreality of its very movie-ish Midwest.
—A.a. Dowd, Vulture, 28 Apr. 2025
What can a mother do, facing reality, facing unreality, but rely on her intuition while at the same time keeping her intuition at bay?
—Yiyun Li, The New Yorker, 23 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for unreality
Ryan Gaur, IndieWire, 10 June 2025
The movie itself is something of a trip; everything feels coated in a faint, menacing sheen of unreality, as if a slasher movie were just a wild twist or two away.
—Justin Chang, New Yorker, 16 May 2025
But as with its aww-shucks hero, there’s more to it than meets the eye; something much stranger lurks behind the slight Twilight Zone unreality of its very movie-ish Midwest.
—A.a. Dowd, Vulture, 28 Apr. 2025
What can a mother do, facing reality, facing unreality, but rely on her intuition while at the same time keeping her intuition at bay?
—Yiyun Li, The New Yorker, 23 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for unreality
Recent Examples of Synonyms for unreality
Noun
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Suburbia offered the illusion of moral purity, deepening social segregation as highways allowed a quick access to and from the city centre.—
Fahad Zuberi,
Time,
5 Nov. 2025
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All one had to do would be to rethink what removals are for (or shake off any post-substitutionist illusions about it).—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
5 Nov. 2025
Noun
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OpenAI and Amazon announced Monday that the former will pay the latter $38 billion over seven years for computing capacity to fuel its AI dreams.—
Andrew Nusca,
Fortune,
4 Nov. 2025
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The week, which had started with the dream of connection and romance, deteriorated into both of us going through the motions—and not all that well.—
Jason Pham,
StyleCaster,
3 Nov. 2025
Noun
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While a student-athlete at Arizona State, the NCAA says Freeman provided information to an associate and to his then-girlfriend on multiple occasions for the purposes of betting on Freeman through daily fantasy sports accounts.—
Dana O’Neil,
CNN Money,
7 Nov. 2025
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Nestled on 30 private acres in the South Fork of Provo Canyon, the secluded property threads streams and waterfalls beneath stone bridges, across gentle knolls, and under low-hanging eaves, all hinting at a hobbit-house inspiration without ever tipping into twee fantasy.—
Abby Montanez,
Robb Report,
6 Nov. 2025
Noun
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But Ma has been deftly drawn as a canny realist and problem solver—not the kind of person to indulge in daydreams.—
Tope Folarin,
The Atlantic,
8 Nov. 2025
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But for business and organizational leaders, this theme doesn’t need to be the stuff of daydreams.—
Jed Brewer,
Rolling Stone,
4 Nov. 2025
Noun
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Spirited, political, and deeply kind individuals, the Christos were passionately devoted to their artistic vision.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
7 Nov. 2025
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Ralph has continued to grace the stage as a vision of strength and style.—
Donnetta Monk,
Essence,
7 Nov. 2025
Noun
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Sharon’s final delusions about Beryl are put to rest as she’s placed under arrest, and Donnelly tests out a draft of her case report on Elsbeth.—
Sophie Brookover,
Vulture,
31 Oct. 2025
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The delusion worked wonderfully.—
Shilpa Uskokovic,
Bon Appetit Magazine,
31 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Unreality.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/unreality. Accessed 9 Nov. 2025.
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