A word or idiom for something that is real but appears fake
A word or idiom for something that is real but appears to be fake. For example "That photograph looks like a painting", or "the sunset looks fake".
Surreal, unreal.
- This painting is surreal.
- This is unreal, I am finally getting to meet Madonna.
- I am surrounded by a surreal atmosphere. I still can't believe that Rand Paul became the President.
un·re·al (ŭn-rē′əl, -rēl′)
adj.
- Not real or substantial; illusory.
- Slang So remarkable as to elicit disbelief; fantastic.
- Surreal.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition copyright ©2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
sur•re•al (səˈri əl, -ˈril)
adj.
1. surrealistic. 2. having the disorienting, hallucinatory quality of a dream; unreal; fantastic.[1935–40]
sur•re′al•ly, adv.
sur•re•al′i•ty (-ˈæl ɪ ti) n.Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.
surreal - characterized by fantastic imagery and incongruous juxtapositions; "a great concourse of phantasmagoric shadows"--J.C.Powys; "the incongruous imagery in surreal art and literature"
Consider uncanny and uncannily.
uncanny: beyond what is normal or expected
"That photograph looks uncannily like a painting."
"The sunset looks uncannily fake."