Dictionary

surrealistic en · ADJ

Pronunciation

• /səˌɹi.əˈlɪs.tɪk/ (US)
• /səˌɹiː.əˈlɪs.tɪk/ (Australia)
• /səˌɹiː.əˈlɪs.tɪk/ (UK)
• (US) audio

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *úp Proto-Indo-European *-er Proto-Indo-European *upér Proto-Italic *super Latin super Latin super- Old French sur- French sur- Proto-Indo-European *(H)reh₁-der. Proto-Indo-European *(H)reh₁ís Proto-Italic *reis Classical Latin rēs Proto-Indo-European *h₂el- Proto-Indo-European *-is Proto-Indo-European *h₂élisder.? Proto-Italic *-ālis Latin -ālis Late Latin reālisder. Old French reel Middle French real French réel Proto-Indo-European *-id- Proto-Indo-European *-yéti Proto-Indo-European *-idyéti Proto-Hellenic *-íd͏̌d͏̌ō Ancient Greek -ῐ́ζω (-ĭ́zō) Proto-Indo-European *-mos Proto-Indo-European *-mós Ancient Greek -μός (-mós) Ancient Greek -ῐσμός (-ĭsmós)bor. Latin -ismusbor. French -isme French réalisme French surréalismebor. English surrealismbf. English surreal ▲ Ancient Greek -ῐ́ζω (-ĭ́zō) Proto-Hellenic *-tās Ancient Greek -τής (-tḗs) Ancient Greek -ῐστής (-ĭstḗs)bor. Latin -istader. Old French -istebor. Middle English -ist English -ist Proto-Indo-European *-ikos Proto-Italic *-ikos Latin -icuslbor. Old French -iquebor. Middle English -ik English -ic English -istic English surrealistic From surreal + -istic.

Meanings

1. surreal.
   • UPON this shifting foundation, treacherous and uncertain as life itself, Cary succeeds in building a series of sublime affirmations. He does it by drawing upon seemingly infinite resources. The narrative techniques range from the Defoe-like quality of the first novel to the slapstick and surrealistic invention of the last. 1958, John Brooks, Once in Golconda: A True Drama of Wall Street, Harper & Row, page 281:
   • This is a photograph in the surrealistic spirit. Some will find it highly interesting and entertaining, others will condemn it as nonsense. 1939, Photographers' Association of California, Camera Craft, Fayette J. Clute, page 131:
   • Conversation had dropped to a low ebb, when, with surrealistic incoherence, someone poured a tin of turpentine on the floor in front, and there it lay in all its unhurried viscuous splendour. 1968, Sisirkumar Ghose, Mine Oyster, Harper & Row, page 174:
   • When the crash finally came, it came with a kind of surrealistic slowness—so gradually that, on the one hand, it was possible to live through a good part of it without realizing that it was happening, and, on the other hand, it was possible to believe that one had experienced and survived it when in fact it had no more than just begun. 1969, John Brooks, Once in Golconda: A True Drama of Wall Street 1920-1938, Harper & Row, page 109:
   • Today the cave is 1,000 feet above the canyon floor. You'll need a sweater inside the cave, which has a constant temperature of 42°. An indirect lighting system effectively iluminates the limestone formations with surrealistic splashes of color from various mineral deposits. 1953, Southern Pacific Company Passenger Department, Sunset, Passenger Department, Southern Pacific Company, page 47:

Forms

Deriveds

surrealistically

Translations (5)

tl makakubtunay (surreal) · nl surrealistisch (surreal) · sv surrealistisk (surreal) · de surrealistisch (surreal) · gd os-fhìreach (surreal)