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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Recent Examples of surreal
These surreal adventures were possible thanks to a cruise to Antarctica with Hurtigruten Expeditions.
—
Hannah Freedman, Travel + Leisure, 17 Feb. 2025
According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), stargazers in some parts of the United States will have the opportunity to experience the surreal views of the northern lights tonight, Feb. 14.
—Valerie Mesa, People.com, 14 Feb. 2025
That’s not the only oddball touch in Rankin’s film, which unspools with a delightfully disorienting mix of poetic realism (one that naturally recalls the Iranian New Wave), flights of surreal comedy, and wry, deadpan bleakness.
—Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 14 Feb. 2025
Seal takes his namesake to new surreal heights in Mountain Dew‘s 2025 Super Bowl commercial.
—Lauren Coates, Variety, 8 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for surreal
Hannah Freedman, Travel + Leisure, 17 Feb. 2025
According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), stargazers in some parts of the United States will have the opportunity to experience the surreal views of the northern lights tonight, Feb. 14.
—Valerie Mesa, People.com, 14 Feb. 2025
That’s not the only oddball touch in Rankin’s film, which unspools with a delightfully disorienting mix of poetic realism (one that naturally recalls the Iranian New Wave), flights of surreal comedy, and wry, deadpan bleakness.
—Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 14 Feb. 2025
Seal takes his namesake to new surreal heights in Mountain Dew‘s 2025 Super Bowl commercial.
—Lauren Coates, Variety, 8 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for surreal
Recent Examples of Synonyms for surreal
Adjective
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The ban is an irrational and prejudicial attack on service members who have risked their lives to serve their country.—
Matt Robison,
Newsweek,
18 Feb. 2025
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The emotional, messy, unquantifiable part of us — that’s not a dumber or more irrational part.—
Sigal Samuel,
Vox,
6 Jan. 2025
Adjective
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Administrators’ choices on admissions are made even more complicated by a weird dynamic in play across higher ed.—
Ian Bogost,
The Atlantic,
27 Feb. 2025
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Both of those fit a mold for an Original Screenplay winner: A Real Pain as the talky Sundance movie; The Substance as the contender that’s a little too weird to win the bigger prizes.—
Nate Jones,
Vulture,
27 Feb. 2025
Adjective
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People say Yoko’s art is strange and her music is not very good.—
Natasha Gural,
Forbes,
27 Feb. 2025
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Many had wondered what her future held with the company and that her acting like nothing had happened was a little strange.—
David Faris,
Newsweek,
27 Feb. 2025
Adjective
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This protects people from unreasonable searches and seizures by the government.—
Joseph Hernandez,
Kansas City Star,
20 Feb. 2025
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The price isn’t unreasonable given the amount of detail that went into designing it and the combination of functions, including the antimicrobial and cooling materials, as well as its adaptability.—
Julia Harrison,
Architectural Digest,
20 Feb. 2025
Adjective
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To even suggest that my clients were somehow resistant to other points of view, acted secretly and/or abusively or threatened anyone’s job is patently false and frankly absurd.—
Peter White,
Deadline,
21 Feb. 2025
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That would be absurd!’ Athwart Gravy Train Wreck James Lileks In the resistance world, Musk and Trump have fused into one dark bolus of evil, a grinning fleshy blob that throbs with malevolence: Muskentrump.—
George Weigel,
National Review,
20 Feb. 2025
Adjective
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Still, any rating on the Torino scale above a 0 is unusual, which is why the world's space agencies have taken notice.—
Eric Lagatta,
USA TODAY,
20 Feb. 2025
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Two Texas runaways were caught under unusual circumstances when one of the 13-year-old girls crashed while driving in neighboring Louisiana, according to the Natchitoches Parish Sheriff’s Office.—
Mark Price,
Miami Herald,
19 Feb. 2025
Adjective
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These were not the actions of a man who considered the game meaningless.—
Arpon Basu,
The Athletic,
17 Feb. 2025
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In the publishing industry, blurbs are somehow both incredibly important and also meaningless, given that most blurbs come through a system that connects the blurber and the book’s author, rather than being an independent, uncompromised judgment.—
John Warner,
Chicago Tribune,
8 Feb. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Surreal.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/surreal. Accessed 3 Mar. 2025.
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