Dictionary Merriam-Webster has named "surreal" as its word of the year

• The lexicographer selected surreal - which means "unbelievable, fantastic" - after spikes in searches following terrorist attacks and the US election. 
• The attacks in Brussels, the Bastille Day massacre in Nice and the attempted coup in Turkey all saw an increase in how often people searched for the word 
• "Surreal" is also defined as meaning "marked by the intense irrational reality of a dream", according to Merriam Webster.