surrealism
noun
sur·re·al·ism sə-ˈrē-ə-ˌli-zəm 
also -ˈrā-
: the principles, ideals, or practice of producing fantastic or incongruous imagery or effects in art, literature, film, or theater by means of unnatural or irrational juxtapositions and combinations
surrealist
sə-ˈrē-ə-list
noun or adjective also -ˈrā-
Example Sentences
Recent Examples on the Web Is this the natural lineage of historic surrealism? 
Lori Waxman, Chicago Tribune, 16 Sep. 2022 On Thank You For Today, the presence of synths and a dreamier sonic palette marks another major step in their evolution, wrapping a nostalgic surrealism around Gibbard’s narratives of growing up and the inevitable change that comes with time. Jeff Terich, SPIN, 16 Sep. 2022 Except even that's not quite right, because four of the episodes — almost half the season! — broke away from the main cast to track anthology-style tales of ambient racial surrealism. Darren Franich, EW.com, 14 Sep. 2022 An animated adaptation of three Haruki Murakami short stories that recreates the Japanese author’s subdued surrealism. Ben Croll, Variety, 8 Sep. 2022 The accompanying video mirrors this sense of surrealism and paranoia, picturing Price as various individuals from tarot cards coming alive for a mystical journey. Jon Freeman, Rolling Stone, 25 Aug. 2022 The effect is sometimes effective, adding an extra jolt of surrealism. Noel Murray, Los Angeles Times, 12 Aug. 2022 Art advisor and historian Casey Monda will present a talk about the history of surrealism in art and discuss collecting and conservation of prints and works on paper. Joan Rusek, cleveland, 1 Aug. 2022 Life itself is often perplexing for the varied cast of this inventively humanistic work, one with welcome instances of love, religious questioning (through a variety of faiths) and one terrifically effective episode of magical surrealism. Tom Nolan, WSJ, 12 Aug. 2022 See More
Lori Waxman, Chicago Tribune, 16 Sep. 2022 On Thank You For Today, the presence of synths and a dreamier sonic palette marks another major step in their evolution, wrapping a nostalgic surrealism around Gibbard’s narratives of growing up and the inevitable change that comes with time. Jeff Terich, SPIN, 16 Sep. 2022 Except even that's not quite right, because four of the episodes — almost half the season! — broke away from the main cast to track anthology-style tales of ambient racial surrealism. Darren Franich, EW.com, 14 Sep. 2022 An animated adaptation of three Haruki Murakami short stories that recreates the Japanese author’s subdued surrealism. Ben Croll, Variety, 8 Sep. 2022 The accompanying video mirrors this sense of surrealism and paranoia, picturing Price as various individuals from tarot cards coming alive for a mystical journey. Jon Freeman, Rolling Stone, 25 Aug. 2022 The effect is sometimes effective, adding an extra jolt of surrealism. Noel Murray, Los Angeles Times, 12 Aug. 2022 Art advisor and historian Casey Monda will present a talk about the history of surrealism in art and discuss collecting and conservation of prints and works on paper. Joan Rusek, cleveland, 1 Aug. 2022 Life itself is often perplexing for the varied cast of this inventively humanistic work, one with welcome instances of love, religious questioning (through a variety of faiths) and one terrifically effective episode of magical surrealism. Tom Nolan, WSJ, 12 Aug. 2022 See More Word History
Etymology
French surréalisme, from sur- + réalisme realism
First Known Use
1925, in the meaning defined above