different between unreal vs ethereal

English

Etymology

un- +? real

Pronunciation

• enPR: ?n-r?l', IPA^(key): /?n??i.?l/
• Rhymes: -i??l

Adjective

unreal (comparative more unreal, superlative most unreal)

1. fake; not real
   • 1922, Margery Williams, The Velveteen Rabbit

     "The Boy's Uncle made me Real," he said. "That was a great many years ago; but once you are Real you can't become unreal again. It lasts for always."

2. (informal) very impressive; amazing; unbelievable; incredible; larger or more fantastic than typical of real life.

   The video includes unreal footage of an eight-metre wave.

   I just had an unreal hamburger.

Synonyms

• (not real): See also Thesaurus:fake or Thesaurus:insubstantial
• (very impressive): See also Thesaurus:awesome

Antonyms

• (not real): real; See also Thesaurus:genuine

Translations

Anagrams

• Lauren, neural, ulnare

English

Alternative forms

• etherial
• aethereal
• aetherial
• æthereal
• æthereall (obsolete)
• ætherial
• ætheriall (obsolete)

Etymology

From Latin aetherius (“of or pertaining to the ether, the sky, or the air or upper air; ethereal”), from Ancient Greek ???????? (aithérios, “of or pertaining to the upper air; ethereal”).

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /?????.?i.?l/
• (US) IPA^(key): /?????.i.?l/, /?????.i.?l/

Adjective

ethereal (comparative more ethereal, superlative most ethereal)

1. Pertaining to the hypothetical upper, purer air, or to the higher regions beyond the earth or beyond the atmosphere; celestial; otherworldly.
   • 1862: Thoreau, Walking.

     I trust that we shall be more imaginative, that our thoughts will be clearer, fresher, and more ethereal, as our sky, […]

2. Consisting of ether; hence, exceedingly light or airy; tenuous; spiritlike; characterized by extreme delicacy, as form, manner, thought, etc.
3. Delicate, light and airy.
4. (chemistry) To do with ether.

   an ethereal solution

Synonyms

• (pertaining to the hypothetical upper, purer air): aereous, mystical, transcendental; See also Thesaurus:cosmic
• (consisting of ether): ethereous; See also Thesaurus:gaseous, Thesaurus:insubstantial, or Thesaurus:subtle
• (delicate, light and airy): gossamer; See also Thesaurus:fragile
• (to do with ether): ethereous, etheric, etherical

Derived terms

Translations

References

• ethereal in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.