as in illusion
a conception or image created by the imagination and having no objective reality
a sci-fi author who seems to have preferred the unrealities of his own fiction to the realities of the world about him
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of unreality
For Leader, this hammers home the unreality of a studio without an intense marketing machine around it.
—
Ryan Gaur, IndieWire, 10 June 2025
The movie itself is something of a trip; everything feels coated in a faint, menacing sheen of unreality, as if a slasher movie were just a wild twist or two away.
—Justin Chang, New Yorker, 16 May 2025
But as with its aww-shucks hero, there’s more to it than meets the eye; something much stranger lurks behind the slight Twilight Zone unreality of its very movie-ish Midwest.
—A.a. Dowd, Vulture, 28 Apr. 2025
What can a mother do, facing reality, facing unreality, but rely on her intuition while at the same time keeping her intuition at bay?
—Yiyun Li, The New Yorker, 23 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for unreality
Ryan Gaur, IndieWire, 10 June 2025
The movie itself is something of a trip; everything feels coated in a faint, menacing sheen of unreality, as if a slasher movie were just a wild twist or two away.
—Justin Chang, New Yorker, 16 May 2025
But as with its aww-shucks hero, there’s more to it than meets the eye; something much stranger lurks behind the slight Twilight Zone unreality of its very movie-ish Midwest.
—A.a. Dowd, Vulture, 28 Apr. 2025
What can a mother do, facing reality, facing unreality, but rely on her intuition while at the same time keeping her intuition at bay?
—Yiyun Li, The New Yorker, 23 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for unreality
Recent Examples of Synonyms for unreality
Noun
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The video gives the illusion that the plane is cutting straight through the colorful arcs.—
Soo Kim,
MSNBC Newsweek,
24 Oct. 2025
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That illusion was shattered Thursday when gambling and sports rigging schemes linked to the mob led to the arrests of 31 defendants, including Portland Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups and former NBA player with the Cleveland Cavaliers and Miami Heat, Damon Jones.—
Alaa Elassar,
CNN Money,
24 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Get started with the Sleeper promo code NEWSWEEKXL to take advantage of one of the best daily fantasy offers for a busy sports weekend.—
Tyler Everett,
MSNBC Newsweek,
24 Oct. 2025
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Draped in orange velvet curtains, layered with vintage rugs and filled with embellished pieces that feel as if they’ve been discovered in another time, the space is designed to create an atmosphere that blurs the line between fashion and fantasy.—
Lisa Lockwood,
Footwear News,
24 Oct. 2025
Noun
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But if so, that original dream did not last long in the face of the torrent of money that soon started flooding his way.—
Moisés Naím,
Literary Hub,
27 Oct. 2025
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Star Kenzi Richardson spoke with Parents about her adventures portraying a teen vampire and making her dreams come true on Disney Channel.—
Allison McClain Merrill,
Parents,
27 Oct. 2025
Noun
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In pieces on patriotism as a kind of madness, on the long history of Polish and Russian colonizations and cultural appropriations of Ukraine, on the ways communities fantasize and share their daydreams, and others, Janion creates wormholes between past and present.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
10 Oct. 2025
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Weston Cloud Modular Sectional Sofa Sinking into cloud-like comfort is no longer a far-off daydream: The Weston Cloud Sofa's plush cushions provide a lavish experience ideal for relaxing after a long day.—
Elizabeth Fogarty,
Better Homes & Gardens,
17 Sep. 2025
Noun
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With the excitement and delusion of Humbert Humbert imposing a purple-prose narrative on his pedophilic assumptions, Hank speaks of his former student like a James Dean figure — beautiful, brooding and quietly intelligent.—
Jourdain Searles,
HollywoodReporter,
28 Oct. 2025
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In Pisces, the taskmaster teaches us how to dream without delusion, and how to love without losing ourselves in the process.—
Valerie Mesa,
PEOPLE,
25 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Most aneurysms are symptom-free, but sudden severe headaches or vision changes can signal a life-threatening rupture.—
Sohaib Imtiaz,
Health,
25 Oct. 2025
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While Diagonal provided the large-scale structure, Marta championed the project from its inception, bringing a deep sensitivity to the narrative, supporting the tone, script development and artistic vision.—
Callum McLennan,
Variety,
24 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Unreality.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/unreality. Accessed 30 Oct. 2025.
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