If you say that a situation is unreal, you mean that it is so strange that you find it difficult to believe it is happening.
It was unreal. Like some crazy childhood nightmare.
It felt so unreal to be talking about our son like this.
unreality (ʌnriælɪti)uncountable noun
He felt light-headed, with a sense of unreality.
2. adjective
If you use unreal to describe something, you are critical of it because you think that it is not like, or not related to, things you expect to find in the real world.
[disapproval]
...unreal financial targets.
Almost all fictional detectives are unreal.
3. graded adjective [usually verb-link ADJECTIVE]
Some people use unreal to indicate that they like something very much.
[informal]
Oh, I can't explain it. It's just unreal. Everybody is so happy.
More Synonyms of unreal
unreal in British English
(ʌnˈrɪəl)
adjective
1.
imaginary or fanciful or seemingly so
an unreal situation
2.
having no actual existence or substance
3.
insincere or artificial
Derived forms
unreally (unˈreally)
adverb
unreal in American English
(ʌnˈriəl)
adjective
1.
not real, actual, or genuine; imaginary, fanciful, insubstantial, false, etc.
2. Informal
astounding, unbelievable, etc.
a hyperbolic use
Examples of 'unreal' in a sentence
unreal
So what has happened is just unreal.
The Sun (2012)
The main one is that the characters feel slightly unreal.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
The fact that the whole thing was entirely unreal did not stop them.
Times, Sunday Times (2015)
Who would want to remember something unreal?
Zindell, David The Broken God (1993)
It just looks unreal and the car feels awesome.
The Sun (2014)
The sight of her face in each of the posters brought home the unreal situation we are in.
The Sun (2010)
The characters are so unreal that it feels like the film is actually challenging you to enjoy it.
The Sun (2010)
It seemed totally strange and unreal.
Times, Sunday Times (2011)
It all just seems so unreal.
The Sun (2009)
It did feel a bit unreal.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
The whole thing felt unreal for the very good reason that it wasn't about anything real.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
It's just unreal to think what happened so soon after.
Times, Sunday Times (2014)
These are my third Euros and to reach the semis feels unreal at the moment.
Times, Sunday Times (2009)
It's all just too unreal and unbalanced.
The Sun (2015)
It's like a film and it feels almost unreal.
The Sun (2011)
I had written something that was unreal.
Times, Sunday Times (2011)
The whole thing was unreal.
Times, Sunday Times (2008)
Or rather, the unreal thing.
Times, Sunday Times (2009)
Everything is just so unreal.
The Sun (2007)
I Just knew it had to be something unreal.
Times, Sunday Times (2014)
She said: 'It was unreal to see it all.
The Sun (2013)
The live side of things is unreal because it's the front line, where music meets people.
The Sun (2008)
He added: 'It was unreal at the time but afterwards we were all as white as sheets and it could have so easily turned out very differently.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
In other languages
unreal
British English: unreal /ʌnˈrɪəl/ ADJECTIVE
If you say that a situation is unreal, you mean that it is so strange that you find it difficult to believe it is happening.
Things have suddenly happened so fast that it seems unreal at times.
American English: unreal
Arabic: غَيْرُ حَقِيقِيّ
Brazilian Portuguese: irreal
Chinese: 不真实的
Croatian: nestvaran
Czech: neskutečný
Danish: uvirkelig
Dutch: onecht
European Spanish: irreal
Finnish: epätodellinen
French: irréel
German: unwirklich
Greek: ανύπαρκτος
Italian: irreale
Japanese: 現実のものではない
Korean: 상상적인
Norwegian: uvirkelig
Polish: nierealny
European Portuguese: irreal
Romanian: ireal
Russian: воображаемый
Latin American Spanish: irreal
Swedish: overklig
Thai: อยู่ในจินตนาการ
Turkish: gerçek dışı
Ukrainian: несправжній
Vietnamese: không thật
Chinese translation of 'unreal'
unreal
(ʌnˈrɪəl)
adj
(= artificial) 假的 (jiǎ de)
(= bizarre) 离(離)谱(譜)的 (lípǔ de)
1 (adjective)
Definition
existing only in the imagination or giving the impression of doing so
There are few more unreal worlds than that of the celebrity.
Synonyms
imaginary
Lots of children have imaginary friends.
make-believe
Children withdraw at times into a make-believe world.
illusory
the illusory nature of nationhood
fabulous
The chimaera of myth is a fabulous beast made up of the parts of other animals.
visionary
the visionary worlds created by fantasy writers
mythical
They are trying to preserve a mythical sense of nationhood.
fanciful
fanciful ideas about Martian life
fictitious
Persons portrayed in this production are fictitious.
intangible
the intangible dimensions of our existence
immaterial
storybook
insubstantial
Their thoughts seemed as insubstantial as smoke.
nebulous
dreamlike
Her paintings have a dreamlike quality.
impalpable
chimerical
phantasmagoric
2 (adjective)
(informal)
Car parking's so expensive nowadays it's unreal.
Synonyms
absurd
They go to absurd lengths just to avoid paying a few pounds.
ridiculous
It was an absolutely ridiculous decision.
preposterous
The whole idea was preposterous.
amazing
nonsensical
It seemed to me that Sir Robert's arguments were nonsensical.
3 (adjective)
Definition
insincere or artificial
Synonyms
fake
The bank manager is said to have issued fake certificates.
seeming
false
He paid for a false passport.
pretended
Todd shrugged with pretended indifference.
artificial
The voice was affected, the accent artificial.
mock
`It's tragic,' he swooned in mock horror.
sham
The election has been denounced as a sham by world leaders.
ostensible
the ostensible reason for her resignation
insincere
He found himself surrounded by insincere flattery.
Opposites
real,
true
,
genuine
,
realistic
,
authentic
,
sincere
,
veritable
, bona fide,
dinkum (Australian, New Zealand, informal)
Additional synonyms
in the sense of artificial
Definition
not sincere
The voice was affected, the accent artificial.
Synonyms
insincere,
forced,
affected,
assumed,
phoney or phony (informal),
put on,
false,
pretended,
hollow,
contrived,
unnatural,
feigned,
spurious,
meretricious
in the sense of chimerical
Definition
wildly fanciful or imaginary
Synonyms
fanciful,
wild,
fantastic,
fabulous,
vain,
imaginary,
visionary,
unreal,
unfounded,
illusory,
quixotic,
hallucinatory,
illusive,
delusive
in the sense of dreamlike
Her paintings have a dreamlike quality.
Synonyms
unreal,
visionary,
surreal,
illusory,
hallucinatory,
trancelike,
chimerical,
phantasmagorical,
phantasmagoric,
unsubstantial
Nearby words of
unreal
unquestionable
unravel
unreadable
unreal
unrealistic
unreasonable
unrecognizable
Synonyms of 'unreal'
unreal
Explore 'unreal' in the dictionary
Additional synonyms
in the sense of fabulous
Definition
told of in fables and legends
The chimaera of myth is a fabulous beast made up of the parts of other animals.
Synonyms
legendary,
imaginary,
mythical,
fictitious,
made-up,
fantastic,
invented,
unreal,
mythological,
apocryphal
in the sense of false
Definition
not real or genuine but intended to seem so
He paid for a false passport.
Synonyms
artificial,
forged,
fake,
mock,
reproduction,
synthetic,
replica,
imitation,
bogus,
simulated,
sham,
pseudo (informal),
counterfeit,
feigned,
spurious,
ersatz,
pretended
in the sense of fanciful
Definition
guided by unrestrained imagination
fanciful ideas about Martian life
Synonyms
unreal,
wild,
ideal,
romantic,
fantastic,
curious,
fabulous,
imaginative,
imaginary,
poetic,
extravagant,
visionary,
fairy-tale,
mythical,
whimsical,
capricious,
chimerical
in the sense of fictitious
Definition
of or in fiction
Persons portrayed in this production are fictitious.
Synonyms
imaginary,
imagined,
made-up,
assumed,
invented,
artificial,
improvised,
mythical,
unreal,
fanciful,
make-believe
in the sense of illusory
Definition
seeming to be true, but actually false
the illusory nature of nationhood
Synonyms
unreal,
false,
misleading,
untrue,
seeming,
mistaken,
apparent,
sham,
deceptive,
deceitful,
hallucinatory,
fallacious,
chimerical,
delusive
in the sense of insincere
Definition
pretending what one does not feel
He found himself surrounded by insincere flattery.
Synonyms
deceitful,
lying,
false,
pretended,
hollow,
untrue,
dishonest,
deceptive,
devious,
hypocritical,
unfaithful,
evasive,
two-faced,
disingenuous,
faithless,
double-dealing,
duplicitous,
dissembling,
mendacious,
perfidious (literary),
untruthful,
dissimulating,
Janus-faced,
with tongue in cheek
in the sense of insubstantial
Definition
imaginary or unreal
Their thoughts seemed as insubstantial as smoke.
Synonyms
imaginary,
unreal,
fanciful,
immaterial,
ephemeral,
illusory,
incorporeal,
chimerical
in the sense of intangible
Definition
difficult for the mind to grasp
the intangible dimensions of our existence
Synonyms
abstract,
vague,
invisible,
dim,
elusive,
shadowy,
airy,
unreal,
indefinite,
ethereal,
evanescent,
incorporeal,
impalpable (formal),
unsubstantial
in the sense of make-believe
Children withdraw at times into a make-believe world.
Synonyms
imaginary,
dream,
imagined,
made-up,
fantasy,
pretend,
pretended,
mock,
sham,
unreal,
fantasized
in the sense of mock
Definition
serving as an imitation or substitute, esp. for practice purposes
`It's tragic,' he swooned in mock horror.
Synonyms
imitation,
pretended,
artificial,
forged,
fake,
false,
faked,
dummy,
bogus,
sham,
fraudulent,
pseudo (informal),
counterfeit,
feigned,
spurious,
ersatz,
phoney or phony (informal)
Additional synonyms
in the sense of mythical
Definition
imaginary or fictitious
They are trying to preserve a mythical sense of nationhood.
Synonyms
imaginary,
made-up,
fantasy,
invented,
pretended,
untrue,
unreal,
fabricated,
fanciful,
fictitious,
make-believe,
nonexistent
in the sense of nonsensical
It seemed to me that Sir Robert's arguments were nonsensical.
Synonyms
senseless,
crazy (informal),
silly,
ridiculous,
absurd,
foolish,
ludicrous,
meaningless,
irrational,
incomprehensible,
inane,
asinine,
cockamamie (slang, US)
in the sense of ostensible
Definition
apparent or seeming
the ostensible reason for her resignation
Synonyms
apparent,
seeming,
supposed,
alleged,
so-called,
pretended,
exhibited,
manifest,
outward,
superficial,
professed,
purported,
avowed,
specious
in the sense of preposterous
Definition
utterly absurd
The whole idea was preposterous.
Synonyms
ridiculous,
bizarre,
incredible,
outrageous,
shocking,
impossible,
extreme,
crazy (informal),
excessive,
absurd,
foolish,
ludicrous,
extravagant,
unthinkable,
unreasonable,
irrational,
monstrous,
senseless,
out of the question,
laughable,
exorbitant,
nonsensical,
risible (formal),
asinine,
cockamamie (slang, US)
in the sense of pretended
Todd shrugged with pretended indifference.
Synonyms
feigned,
alleged,
so-called,
phoney or phony (informal),
false,
pretend (informal),
fake,
imaginary,
bogus,
professed,
sham,
purported,
pseudo (informal),
counterfeit,
spurious,
fictitious,
avowed,
ostensible
in the sense of ridiculous
Definition
worthy of or causing ridicule
It was an absolutely ridiculous decision.
Synonyms
laughable,
stupid,
incredible,
silly,
outrageous,
absurd,
foolish,
unbelievable,
hilarious,
ludicrous,
preposterous,
farcical,
comical,
zany,
nonsensical,
derisory,
inane,
risible (formal),
contemptible,
cockamamie (slang, US)
in the sense of sham
Definition
not real or genuine
The election has been denounced as a sham by world leaders.