surreal
suh-REE-ul
/səˈriː.əl/
Having the qualities of surrealism; bizarre, dreamlike, or irrational.
Implies a mix of very realistic details with impossible or dreamlike situations (e.g., a melting clock).
The story behind the word. Coined by the poet Guillaume Apollinaire in 1917, the word literally means 'above realism.' It was intended to describe a higher reality where the conscious and unconscious minds meet.
Word relationships
- dreamlike: Dreamlike is more poetic and gentle; surreal can be disturbing or jarring.
- phantasmagoric: Phantasmagoric is a much more formal and intense word for a sequence of dreamlike images.
- realistic: Realistic art and experiences conform to the laws of the physical world.
- mundane: Mundane refers to the ordinary and boringly normal.
Commonly confused with
- absurd: Absurd means logically impossible or silly; surreal means dreamlike and visually strange.
Word family
- surrealism (noun): A 20th-century avant-garde movement in art and literature.
- surrealist (noun/adjective): An artist who follows the principles of surrealism.
Collocations
- surreal experience
- surreal landscape
- surreal humor
Example sentences
- "Walking through the deserted city at dawn felt completely surreal, like a scene from a movie." Describing a strange experience.
- "Surrealism is destructive, but it destroys only what it considers to be shackles limiting our vision." A real citation from a surrealist.
Memory hook
Sur-REAL. It is 'super' (sur) 'real'. It's more than real—it's the reality of dreams. Beyond the real.
When not to use
Don't use for things that are just 'weird'; it should feel like a dream or a hallucination.
Fun facts
- The most famous surrealist painting, Dalí's 'The Persistence of Memory,' was inspired by the sight of Camembert cheese melting in the sun.
Related words
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