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 geothermal area is far from the crowded Golden Circle and offers hikers the chance to experience surreal volcanic landscapes and soak in secluded geothermal pools.
—
Becca Blond, AFAR Media, 5 Feb. 2025
The situation, Kennedy said, has become a bit surreal for those who serve patients day in and day out.
—Paul Sisson, San Diego Union-Tribune, 2 Feb. 2025
Snow Canyon State Park, Utah This hidden gem near St. George features red sandstone formations, lava flows, and dunes that take on a surreal glow.
—Staff Report, Hartford Courant, 2 Feb. 2025
For someone who had spent most of his career with a low caesar, seeing himself with hair was surreal—and as expected, with growth also came grays.
—Amber Corrine, VIBE.com, 27 Jan. 2025
See all Example Sentences for surreal 
Becca Blond, AFAR Media, 5 Feb. 2025
The situation, Kennedy said, has become a bit surreal for those who serve patients day in and day out.
—Paul Sisson, San Diego Union-Tribune, 2 Feb. 2025
Snow Canyon State Park, Utah This hidden gem near St. George features red sandstone formations, lava flows, and dunes that take on a surreal glow.
—Staff Report, Hartford Courant, 2 Feb. 2025
For someone who had spent most of his career with a low caesar, seeing himself with hair was surreal—and as expected, with growth also came grays.
—Amber Corrine, VIBE.com, 27 Jan. 2025
See all Example Sentences for surreal
Recent Examples of Synonyms for surreal
Adjective
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Instead, try to ground yourself in the present and challenge irrational fears with evidence and logic.—
Amy Blankson,
Forbes,
20 Jan. 2025
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The historical 'attitude' (arrogance) in his acting has fueled MAGA, and his endorsements of Trump are undeniably overbearing and irrational.—
Tommy Tuberville,
Newsweek,
8 Jan. 2025
Adjective
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Gilda, who fell in love easily and often, and wasn’t afraid to be weird, or look ridiculous.—
Adrienne LaFrance,
The Atlantic,
15 Feb. 2025
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This isn’t to take a weird victory lap several years later.—
Grant Brisbee,
The Athletic,
14 Feb. 2025
Adjective
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The win-then-disqualification made for a strange post-race set of circumstances.—
Alex Zietlow,
Charlotte Observer,
15 Feb. 2025
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Tekashi’s camp then called the Palm Beach Sheriff’s Office, which dispatched Bomb Squad officers to investigate the strange parcel.—
Marc Griffin,
VIBE.com,
14 Feb. 2025
Adjective
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In response to Kelley calling the union demands unreasonable, Lacey said the president's comments were insulting.—
Fernando Cervantes Jr.,
USA TODAY,
6 Feb. 2025
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The share of frisks and fuller searches complying with the ruling — and the Constitution’s Fourth Amendment guarantee against unreasonable searches and seizures — were lower than the stop numbers.—
New York Daily News Editorial Board,
New York Daily News,
5 Feb. 2025
Adjective
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This gorgeous film’s premise is a simple, humanist, and not particularly dramatic one, of the type that the Italian neorealists treasured, but it’s been given an absurd, comic-romantic spin.—
Bilge Ebiri,
Vulture,
7 Feb. 2025
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These absurd names and acronyms speak to both the cult-y side of the Eagans and to the ways that corporations keep trying to reinvent things, words included, that worked just fine as is.—
Alan Sepinwall,
Rolling Stone,
7 Feb. 2025
Adjective
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Not fun: conflating all unusual, standalone, departure, or otherwise distinctive episodes into the term bottle episode.—
Kathryn VanArendonk,
Vulture,
7 Feb. 2025
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Available in three sophisticated shades – carbon, affogato, and flute (a light, blue-tinged grey) – it’s spun from 100% cashmere sourced from a prestigious Italian mill regarded as the world’s finest, and knitted to be a double-faced jersey, which is unusual.—
Benedict Browne,
Robb Report,
7 Feb. 2025
Adjective
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However, trying to draw an AI line may be meaningless when the term itself is so all-encompassing.—
Marcus Jones,
IndieWire,
7 Feb. 2025
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Her Washington insider status is meaningless during the next four years of the Trump administration and an unfriendly Congress.—
Letters To The Editor,
The Mercury News,
7 Feb. 2025
Thesaurus Entries Near surreal
Cite this Entry
“Surreal.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/surreal. Accessed 22 Feb. 2025.
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