as in illusion
a conception or image created by the imagination and having no objective reality
a sci-fi author who seems to have preferred the unrealities of his own fiction to the realities of the world about him
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of unreality
But as with its aww-shucks hero, there’s more to it than meets the eye; something much stranger lurks behind the slight Twilight Zone unreality of its very movie-ish Midwest.
—
A.a. Dowd, Vulture, 28 Apr. 2025
As the novel progresses, this sense of unreality sharpens.
—Jordan Kisner, The Atlantic, 4 Apr. 2025
The initial blitzkrieg against USAID in January had a feel of unreality: the natural reaction was denial.
—Dylan Matthews, Vox, 28 Mar. 2025
All those books teaching parents how to take care of their children—the first year, the first eighteen months, the first five or ten years—none of them addresses this difficulty: for parents and for children, the border between reality and unreality is not always clearly marked.
—Yiyun Li, The New Yorker, 23 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for unreality
A.a. Dowd, Vulture, 28 Apr. 2025
As the novel progresses, this sense of unreality sharpens.
—Jordan Kisner, The Atlantic, 4 Apr. 2025
The initial blitzkrieg against USAID in January had a feel of unreality: the natural reaction was denial.
—Dylan Matthews, Vox, 28 Mar. 2025
All those books teaching parents how to take care of their children—the first year, the first eighteen months, the first five or ten years—none of them addresses this difficulty: for parents and for children, the border between reality and unreality is not always clearly marked.
—Yiyun Li, The New Yorker, 23 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for unreality
Recent Examples of Synonyms for unreality
Noun
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The journey evolves, when the sculpture is backlit with a cool white front light to showcase the illusion that the figure and its environment are immersed under water.—
Natasha Gural,
Forbes.com,
19 Sep. 2025
-
Women are sort of forced into maintaining youth or the illusion of youth.—
Kara Nesvig,
Parents,
18 Sep. 2025
Noun
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The Hotel Excelsior Venice Lido, a 1908 Moorish fantasy commissioned by entrepreneur Nicolò Spada, boasts Byzantine domes and an eclectic façade that have sheltered everyone from Winston Churchill to Erroll Flynn, from Greta Garbo to Clark Gable.—
Jenn Rice,
Forbes.com,
19 Sep. 2025
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His storyline becomes a quest for truth within a shelter built on fantasies and populated by liars.—
Judy Berman,
Time,
19 Sep. 2025
Noun
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The dream drive package includes private transfer to The Barn, Napa Valley Car Club's exclusive clubhouse, post-drive drinks and stories and return transfer.—
Michael Goldstein,
Forbes.com,
16 Sep. 2025
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That dream never manifested, and eventually, the republican government’s international legitimacy was transferred to the surging mainland.—
Timothy Nerozzi,
The Washington Examiner,
16 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Designers leaned into loose, chemise-style dresses that evoked a European countryside sensibility (cue the daydream of wandering through a field of lilacs).—
Jalil Johnson,
Refinery29,
13 Aug. 2025
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Ellen retreats to her room and daydreams of her father, who understood his headstrong daughter.—
Lincee Ray Published,
EW.com,
8 Aug. 2025
Noun
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The music business, theater, Hollywood — these are obvious places to find folks who live in constant delusion, not to mention places Guest was already well familiar with.—
Anne Victoria Clark,
Vulture,
12 Sep. 2025
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Notably, Illinois banned AI therapy after research found chatbot therapists fuel delusions, and California is close to becoming the first state to restrict companion bots to protect kids.—
Ashley Belanger,
ArsTechnica,
11 Sep. 2025
Noun
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The way Zohran Mamdani—the son of an Indian-Ugandan Muslim scholar of Africa—has repudiated these values, along with his adherence to a cosmopolitan vision of peace and justice, guarantees extreme hostility to him among the Establishment.—
Pankaj Mishra,
Harpers Magazine,
19 Sep. 2025
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If rain severely impairs your vision, pull over and wait for conditions to improve.—
Southern California Weather Report,
Oc Register,
19 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Unreality.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/unreality. Accessed 20 Sep. 2025.
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