unreal
English
[edit]Etymology
[edit]Pronunciation
[edit]Adjective
[edit]unreal (comparative more unreal, superlative most unreal)
- Not real or substantial; having no actual presence in reality; lacking the characteristics of reality.
- 1899 February, Joseph Conrad, “The Heart of Darkness”, in Blackwood’s Edinburgh Magazine, volume CLXV, number M, New York, N.Y.: The Leonard Scott Publishing Company, […], →OCLC, part I, page 212:
- The word ‘ivory’ rang in the air, was whispered, was sighed. You would think they were praying to it. A taint of imbecile rapacity blew through it all, like a whiff from some corpse. By Jove! I’ve never seen anything so unreal in my life.
- 1921 June, Margery Williams, “The Velveteen Rabbit: Or How Toys Become Real”, in Harper’s Bazar, volume LVI, number 6 (2504 overall), New York, N.Y.: International Magazine Company, →ISSN, →OCLC:
- "The Boy's Uncle made me Real," he said. "That was a great many years ago; but once you are Real you can't become unreal again. It lasts for always."
- (informal) very impressive; amazing; unbelievable; incredible; larger or more fantastic than typical of real life.
- The video includes unreal footage of an eight-metre wave.
- I just had an unreal hamburger.
- 1990, Eurydice, F/32, page 205:
- He stops his cab at every traffic light, unrolls his window and calls out to the other drivers: "I've got a movie star in the car! Follow me down to see her come out. She is unreal, man! I am in seventh heaven! I have a dream!"
- 1995, Sam Reaves, Get What's Coming, page 60:
- "She just set me up" "Now that's unreal, man. I mean, we're talking about a fairly considerable sum here, aren't we, Dexter?" "Listen to me. She set me up, with a dude she was cheatin' on me with
- 2012, Thomas Maul, Manila Demon, page 102:
- “Yeah, she does have a certain mental toughness that is unreal,” agreed Berto. “I really don't think of her as a girl, I mean, it's like she's a tough buddy or tough sister to me.”
- 2011, John Adrian Tomlin, The Imaginarium Machine, page 13:
- He walks around and tries to pluck a flower on the ground. david exclaims, “Holy shit, this is unreal! i can feel the flower, the heat from the sun, and i can even hear the wind! The smells are so vibrant! How could i possibly be smelling flowers?
Synonyms
[edit]- (not real): See also Thesaurus:fake or Thesaurus:insubstantial
- (very impressive): See also Thesaurus:awesome
Antonyms
[edit]- (antonym(s) of “not real”): real; See also Thesaurus:genuine
Derived terms
[edit]Translations
[edit]not real
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