unreal

[[t]ʌ̱nri͟ːl[/t]]

1) ADJ-GRADED: v-link ADJ 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.

Syn:

bizarre

Derived words:

unreality [[t]ʌ̱nriæ̱lɪti[/t]] N-UNCOUNT

To his surprise he didn't feel too weak. Light-headed certainly, and with a sense of unreality, but able to walk.

2) ADJ-GRADED (disapproval) 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.

...unreal financial targets...

Almost all fictional detectives are unreal.

Syn:

phoney

3) ADJ-GRADED: usu v-link ADJ 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.