surreal humor
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7.6
- noun
- /sərˈriːəl ˈhjuːmər/
- I love surreal humor in movies!
Examples
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The play used surreal humor to highlight the unpredictability of life and the absurdity of routine.
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Her taste in comedy leans toward surreal humor rather than traditional jokes or slapstick.
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Classic examples of surreal humor include sketches by Monty Python that involve talking animals and nonsensical scenarios.
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Many of Salvador Dali's paintings reflect surreal humor.
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The comedian's performance was filled with surreal humor, leaving the audience in stitches with its unexpected twists.
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Many cartoons employ surreal humor to create laugh-out-loud moments through absurd and illogical scenarios.
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In the play, the main character often found himself in situations that showcased surreal humor, such as talking to inanimate objects.
Synonyms
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4.9
Funny jokes or actions that are unusual and a little strange
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7.6
Funny events or lines that make no sense to surprise and amuse
1
8.2
A way of being funny that is strange and silly
How Surreal
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'humour characterized by bizarre, illogical, dreamlike elements' is directly and compositionally derived from combining 'surreal' (unreal, dreamlike) with 'humor' (comic quality). This adjective + noun construction follows standard English patterns and has clear cross‑linguistic equivalents, so a learner who knows both words can readily infer the MWE meaning.
Etymology
The phrase surreal humor comes from artists who made surreal pictures that looked 'dreamlike', with odd things like a fish in a living room. Those surprising, not-normal scenes make people laugh, so surreal humor means funny situations that are strange and do not make normal sense.