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
Devils Garden Campground While accommodation options abound in Moab, there’s nothing like sleeping among the park's surreal sandstone.
—
Stephanie Vermillion, Travel + Leisure, 17 Aug. 2025
Sure, the show operated on a thin strain of logic that bordered on the surreal, but its complete disconnect from reality was half the appeal.
—Indiewire Staff, IndieWire, 16 Aug. 2025
Wednesday deadpans before the two are transported to a surreal dreamscape featuring a giant gorgon-head fireplace.
—Allison Degrushe Published, EW.com, 15 Aug. 2025
What followed, as his house fell to ruin, was a surreal, communal night of service.
—Brock Keeling, Oc Register, 9 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for surreal
Stephanie Vermillion, Travel + Leisure, 17 Aug. 2025
Sure, the show operated on a thin strain of logic that bordered on the surreal, but its complete disconnect from reality was half the appeal.
—Indiewire Staff, IndieWire, 16 Aug. 2025
Wednesday deadpans before the two are transported to a surreal dreamscape featuring a giant gorgon-head fireplace.
—Allison Degrushe Published, EW.com, 15 Aug. 2025
What followed, as his house fell to ruin, was a surreal, communal night of service.
—Brock Keeling, Oc Register, 9 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for surreal
Recent Examples of Synonyms for surreal
Adjective
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On the irrational front, Cramer pointed to recent IPOs such as Circle, Figma and Bullish, that each saw explosive gains after their debuts.—
Ali McCadden,
CNBC,
14 Aug. 2025
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But exactly the opposite needs to happen: the patient needs to enact her struggle in the room, to be messy, irrational, resentful, out of control.—
Leslie Jamison,
New Yorker,
4 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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Two-tone paint job and that weird hump of a trunk, remember?—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
14 Aug. 2025
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Like everybody else in the show, he’s squeezed by the various, weird incentives of a capitalist medical system.—
Ben Travers,
IndieWire,
14 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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At the campaign’s first big canvassing event in mid-December, primary field director Tascha Van Auken noticed something strange happening.—
Mark Chiusano,
Time,
14 Aug. 2025
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Death Valley’s Racetrack Playa is home to some very strange rocks.—
Andrew Paul Aug 14,
Popular Science,
14 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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That doesn’t seem like an unreasonable body count for someone who’s about to default on his mortgage — someone who’s already suffered the indignity of being forced to cancel his family’s Netflix account.—
David Ehrlich,
IndieWire,
29 Aug. 2025
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State of Ohio et al. v. NCAA (2024): A coalition of states challenged the NCAA’s remaining restrictions on transfers, arguing that the adjusted rule still imposed unreasonable restraint on athletes.—
Nick LoMaglio,
Forbes.com,
29 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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My point wasn’t that men have had a harder time than women — that would be absurd.—
Emily Zemler,
Rolling Stone,
19 Aug. 2025
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Given the already substantial spend on incoming transfers, suggesting the club needs more, possibly sending its spending past the $500 million mark, seems absurd, almost greedy.—
James Nalton,
Forbes.com,
18 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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Although unusual, this display is likely not going to be as strong as 2024’s extreme G5 geomagnetic storms, the most powerful for two decades.—
Jamie Carter,
Forbes.com,
31 Aug. 2025
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While the sight might not have been unusual a few weeks prior, Garcia's neighbors had notably packed up and moved out several days earlier, leaving the property completely empty, aside from the mysterious brown dog.—
Tereza Shkurtaj,
People.com,
30 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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But looking into the era of AI, the whole concept of the corporate moat may become meaningless.—
Geoff Colvin,
Fortune,
17 Aug. 2025
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Such a decision is understandable, as coaches are concerned about players possibly getting injured in what are essentially meaningless games.—
Robert Marvi,
MSNBC Newsweek,
15 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Surreal.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/surreal. Accessed 3 Sep. 2025.
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