irreal

[ ih-ree-uhl, ih-reel ]

adjective

1. unreal.

Other Words From

• ir·re·al·i·ty [ir-ee-, al, -i-tee], noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of irreal¹

First recorded in 1940–45; ir- ² + real ¹

Example Sentences

Mahoney’s twists and reveals, keen bits of insight and irreal imagery — with the grotesque often being presented as beautiful — prevent this odd couple from becoming cloying.

From New York Times

There is something slightly irreal and super-bright about Jones’s prose — it conveys a sense that her knowledge of the world she’s describing is also second-order, i.e. derived from books, or at least refracted through them, rather than observed first hand, unmediated.

From Time

Like them, Folon took a strong turn for the fantastic, serving up the quotidian in images dreamy or irreal.

From Time Magazine Archive

The small landholdings of Hans at Moehra are not real, but irreal estate.

From Project Gutenberg

Il me semble que les personnages de Stevenson ont justement cette espèce de réalisme irréal. 

From Project Gutenberg