Meaning & use
surreal
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Meanings
adjectivecomparable
Strange and dreamlike, so that it hardly seems real.
Grammar: Before a noun or after a linking verb: a surreal scene; the day felt surreal.
Patterns
- feel surreal
- surreal to someone
Standing on the empty stage felt surreal.
The film had a surreal, dreamlike mood.
It was surreal to see my old teacher on television.
adjectivebefore a nounspecialist
Relating to Surrealism, the artistic movement that used dream images and illogical combinations.
Grammar: In art writing, often capitalized as Surrealist.
The gallery showed surreal paintings of melting clocks.
He wrote surreal poems full of impossible images.
Word forms
| comparative | more surreal |
|---|---|
| superlative | most surreal |
Common combinations
- surreal experience
- Meeting my hero was a surreal experience.
- surreal moment
- It was a surreal moment on the platform.
- feel surreal
- The whole day felt surreal.
- surreal humor
- The show is known for its surreal humor.
- almost surreal
- The silence was almost surreal.
Synonyms and how they differ
- dreamlike
- Dreamlike is gentler and describes a soft, unreal feel.
- bizarre
- Bizarre means odd and strange, but does not imply unreality.
- unreal
- Unreal is looser and informal, and can also mean excellent.
- fantastical
- Fantastical means imaginative and fanciful, without disturbing strangeness.
Opposites
Word family
- surrealism noun
- an art movement based on dreams
- surrealist noun
- an artist of the movement
- surrealistic adjective
- like surrealism
- surreally adverb
- in a dreamlike way
Commonly confused: surreal or surreal and unreal?
surreal vs surreal and unreal
Surreal suggests a dreamlike oddness, while unreal can simply mean not real or very impressive.
Practice
Seeing my own face on a giant billboard felt completely ___.
Choose one answer.
Surreal means strange and dreamlike. Surplus, serious and sterile do not describe such an experience.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “surreal”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.