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 One of the more surreal responses to that experience is applause, which ripples through the audience of Paranormal Activity a beat after all the major scares, like rain settling in after a peal of thunder. — Jackson McHenry, Vulture, 26 Aug. 2026 Essay Signs of Life Raksha Vasudevan On the surreal nature of secondary trauma. — Naomi Skwarna, hazlitt.net, 25 Aug. 2026 Billed as a comedy-drama with surreal undertones, Hombre al Agua marks Amore Perros and Mozart in the Jungle actor Bernal’s third feature in the director’s seat, with the Mexican star also taking co-writing and producing credits. — Melanie Goodfellow, Deadline, 24 Aug. 2026 The dreamy rhythm established by Mary Sweeney’s editing and Lynch’s surreal imagery yields a cinematic experience that’s impossible to look away from and almost impossible to fully understand. — Wesley Stenzel, Entertainment Weekly, 21 Aug. 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
  • But the question remained unsolved for polygons with irrational angles.
    — Sam Macdonald, Scientific American, 14 Aug. 2026
  • As a result, the argument goes, today's spending is irrational because the hardware would need to be replaced too frequently to generate an attractive return on investment, known as ROI.
    — , CNBC, 12 Aug. 2026
Definition of irrational
Adjective
  • This turns into a big argument about Issa being a weird little guy, and suddenly there are multiple potential roommate schisms in the house.
    — Ben Rosenstock, Vulture, 28 Aug. 2026
  • There’s a comically weird dinner with Kel’s ex, Sabrina (a scintillatingly eccentric Jasmin Savoy Brown).
    — Robert Abele, Los Angeles Times, 28 Aug. 2026
Definition of weird
Adjective
  • Some are quieter this year, some are almost ridiculous, but all of them share a strange sense of purpose.
    — Jim Dobson, Forbes.com, 29 Aug. 2026
  • His attempt to discover what he is supposed to be doing propels him through a succession of increasingly strange encounters, as his search for purpose becomes entangled with his desire for love, friendship and some kind of place in the world.
    — Davide Abbatescianni, Variety, 28 Aug. 2026
Definition of strange
Adjective
  • The parties have blamed each other for trying to make unreasonable last-minute changes to their agreement.
    — Kevin Breuninger,Michael Wayland, CNBC, 24 Aug. 2026
  • The investigation found Brazilian policies unreasonable or discriminatory toward US commerce.
    — Joshua Hong, Fortune, 21 Aug. 2026
Definition of unreasonable
Adjective
  • The roster might as well be an All-Star team, and this pitching staff is absurd.
    — David Troy OutKick, FOXNews.com, 26 Aug. 2026
  • The very idea of a trade war with Canada — our neighbor, our ally, our closest friend, a nation that’s peaceful and whose people have a reputation for kindness — is absurd.
    — Robert B. Reich, Hartford Courant, 25 Aug. 2026
Definition of absurd
Adjective
  • While his batting order remains unchanged, the team has made an unusual move, relocating Guerrero's locker to a new spot.
    — Peter Chawaga, Forbes.com, 30 Aug. 2026
  • Land exchanges are common elsewhere in the federal government, but exchanging National Park Service land for private development access is unusual, NOTUS reported, citing a former park service official.
    — Annie Palmer, CNBC, 29 Aug. 2026
Definition of unusual
Adjective
  • Instead, coaches have become more and more terrified through the years of seeing their players getting hurt during largely meaningless games in August.
    — Rob Reischel, Forbes.com, 29 Aug. 2026
  • In my line of work, game columns don’t get more meaningless than that.
    — Scott Fowler, Charlotte Observer, 29 Aug. 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 2 Sep. 2026.

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