1
as in absurd
conceived or made without regard for reason or reality
an unreal claim that is distant from the slightest hint of truth
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in mythic
not real and existing only in the imagination
the unreal world of TV sitcoms
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of unreal
Spectators and commentators alike were taken aback as the incident unfolded due to the unreal farmer's tan of Phillips.
—
Mark Weinstein, MSNBC Newsweek, 27 Apr. 2025
It’s got an immersive screen that makes games look unreal, and the OLED panel blows everything else out of the water with its colors and contrast.
—Shubham Yewale, PC Magazine, 21 Apr. 2025
Overdo it, and your image can easily look over-processed and unreal.
—Jamie Carter, Forbes.com, 16 Apr. 2025
On one level all of this felt so unreal, things that had happened in another era and to another person, things, really, that had not happened.
—Hazlitt, 2 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for unreal
Mark Weinstein, MSNBC Newsweek, 27 Apr. 2025
It’s got an immersive screen that makes games look unreal, and the OLED panel blows everything else out of the water with its colors and contrast.
—Shubham Yewale, PC Magazine, 21 Apr. 2025
Overdo it, and your image can easily look over-processed and unreal.
—Jamie Carter, Forbes.com, 16 Apr. 2025
On one level all of this felt so unreal, things that had happened in another era and to another person, things, really, that had not happened.
—Hazlitt, 2 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for unreal
Recent Examples of Synonyms for unreal
Adjective
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One thing that’s been a challenge to satirists in the last 10 years is that reality has become so absurd, with the dumbest possible things happening every day, that there doesn’t always seem to be another level for satire to go to.—
Alan Sepinwall,
Rolling Stone,
28 May 2025
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Read it because existence is absurd, and laughter might be the most intelligent response available.—
Newsweek Staff,
MSNBC Newsweek,
28 May 2025
Adjective
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Joining me is my Staten Island brother, Pete Davidson, who unveils a darker, dramatic side as his character navigates a bizarre group of residents in an old age home.—
Etan Vlessing,
HollywoodReporter,
29 May 2025
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Part of that stems from fewer bizarre storytelling choices (good!), and part of it is a byproduct of an overly cautious attitude toward character development (bad).—
Ben Travers,
IndieWire,
28 May 2025
Adjective
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The Scheme To carry out the fraud scheme, the defendants and their co-conspirators created fictitious employers and lists of alleged employees—those lists were generated using personally identifiable information (PII) gleaned from thousands of identity theft victims.—
Kelly Phillips Erb,
Forbes.com,
23 May 2025
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When Noah Wyle reunited with ER producers John Wells and R. Scott Gemmill to make HBO Max’s The Pitt, the plan was to offer a realistic portrayal of healthcare today through the lens of harried pros working in a fictitious Pittsburgh hospital.—
Nellie Andreeva,
Deadline,
20 May 2025
Adjective
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And this is not a story of corporate greed run amok, because Walmart would be foolish to try to gouge its customers at a time when economic anxiety is high (more on that in a moment).—
Allison Morrow,
CNN Money,
16 May 2025
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Peters said the training from Wayne State's Institute of Gerontology has helped credit union employees to better frame probing questions that will get a positive response without making members feel foolish.—
Susan Tompor,
USA Today,
15 May 2025
Adjective
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Draw an imaginary line from the magnitude 2.3 star Merak, which forms the outer base of the 'bowl', through Dubhe, the star positioned as the 'pouring tip' of the asterism.—
Anthony Wood,
Space.com,
20 May 2025
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The mastermind behind covert action, Frank Wisner, never paused to consider that his cure for defeating an imaginary worldwide communist conspiracy was worse than the disease.—
Bruce Fein,
Baltimore Sun,
15 May 2025
Adjective
-
Amanda learned in like 10 seconds, which is insane.—
Scott Roxborough,
The Hollywood Reporter,
24 Mar. 2025
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The emu egg—a two pound, eight-inch ovoid with a sultry teal shell gently speckled in pale green—seemed like just the right absurdist final flourish for an already insane endeavor.—
Helen Rosner,
The New Yorker,
23 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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What makes the book so extraordinary is that is functions as a de facto catalogue for a mythical Rolex museum, chock full of images of timepieces from every Rolex era, dating to 1908, three years after the brand was founded.—
Victoria Gomelsky,
Robb Report,
26 May 2025
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The mythical creature is said to be the origin of the first Vietnamese people.—
Jenna Thompson,
Kansas City Star,
23 May 2025
Adjective
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Ready to swap the real-world drama for a fictional web of secrets and lies?—
Andrea Bartz,
People.com,
18 May 2025
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It’s set in the (fictional) city of Eddington, NM, where the local sheriff, Joaquin Phoenix’s Joe Cross, tools around town responding to minor crises like noise complaints.—
Stephanie Zacharek,
Time,
17 May 2025
Cite this Entry
“Unreal.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/unreal. Accessed 2 Jun. 2025.
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