unreal
/ʌnˈɹi.əl/adjective
unreal is spelled U-N-R-E-A-L: 6 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 3.9 times per million words in written English, the 13,127th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, unreal means “Not real or substantial; having no actual presence in reality; lacking the characteristics of reality” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in unreal?
| Letters | 6: U-N-R-E-A-L |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 3.9 times per million words; the 13,127th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Same letters |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is unreal?
Unreal appears 3.9 times per million words in written English, the 13,127th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce unreal?
- /ʌnˈɹi.əl/
Unreal has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-unreal.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with unreal?
No other word on PlainSpell ends in the same sounds as unreal.
Spelled with the same letters in another order: neural.
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of unreal
- more unreal comparative
- most unreal superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does unreal mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Not real or substantial; having no actual presence in reality; lacking the characteristics of reality.
- 2
informalvery impressive; amazing; unbelievable; incredible; larger or more fantastic than typical of real life.
The video includes unreal footage of an eight-metre wave.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Unreal in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense not real:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | irréel |
| German | unwirklich, irreal |
| Portuguese | irreal |
| Spanish | irreal |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does unreal come from?
From un- + real.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).