1
as in surreal
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2
as in incomprehensible
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Recent Examples of Kafkaesque
This defiant and entertaining work playfully uses headshots and avatars to visualize clandestine audio recordings documenting years of Kafkaesque impositions, threats, and vital dissident art.
—
Samantha Bergeson, IndieWire, 10 Feb. 2025
The plot revolves around the Black protagonist’s Kafkaesque trial before the U.S. Supreme Court for supposedly attempting to restore slavery and segregation in his small, agrarian community near Los Angeles, and our hero’s reflections on what led him to this point.
—Barbara Ellis, The Denver Post, 3 Feb. 2025
Yet TikTok is still available in the U.S. in some sort of Kafkaesque legal limbo because President Trump refuses to enforce the law on the books.
—Philip Elliott, TIME, 28 Jan. 2025
Still, the most difficult aspect of the crisis is not the need to prepare for an unspecified economic threat from a close ally, but the need to cope with a sudden sense of almost Kafkaesque absurdity.
—Anne Applebaum, The Atlantic, 18 Jan. 2025
The Productivity Paradox Haly’s future is snagged in a heartbreaking and maddening plot twist, one that may seem all too familiar in our Kafkaesque healthcare system.
—Naveen Rao, Forbes, 22 Oct. 2024
His mirthless laugh might have suggested Kafkaesque persecution, or Hardyesque inexorability of fate.
—Tad Friend, The New Yorker, 21 Oct. 2024
Much like his success building houses in Muara Angke, Prabowo wants to sidestep Indonesia’s Kafkaesque bureaucracy with direct action.
—Charlie Campbell / Jakarta, TIME, 14 Oct. 2024
The film centers on Leopold Trepper, a World War II spy mastermind, who faced a Kafkaesque struggle in 1970s Poland.
—Leo Barraclough, Variety, 18 Aug. 2024
Samantha Bergeson, IndieWire, 10 Feb. 2025
The plot revolves around the Black protagonist’s Kafkaesque trial before the U.S. Supreme Court for supposedly attempting to restore slavery and segregation in his small, agrarian community near Los Angeles, and our hero’s reflections on what led him to this point.
—Barbara Ellis, The Denver Post, 3 Feb. 2025
Yet TikTok is still available in the U.S. in some sort of Kafkaesque legal limbo because President Trump refuses to enforce the law on the books.
—Philip Elliott, TIME, 28 Jan. 2025
Still, the most difficult aspect of the crisis is not the need to prepare for an unspecified economic threat from a close ally, but the need to cope with a sudden sense of almost Kafkaesque absurdity.
—Anne Applebaum, The Atlantic, 18 Jan. 2025
The Productivity Paradox Haly’s future is snagged in a heartbreaking and maddening plot twist, one that may seem all too familiar in our Kafkaesque healthcare system.
—Naveen Rao, Forbes, 22 Oct. 2024
His mirthless laugh might have suggested Kafkaesque persecution, or Hardyesque inexorability of fate.
—Tad Friend, The New Yorker, 21 Oct. 2024
Much like his success building houses in Muara Angke, Prabowo wants to sidestep Indonesia’s Kafkaesque bureaucracy with direct action.
—Charlie Campbell / Jakarta, TIME, 14 Oct. 2024
The film centers on Leopold Trepper, a World War II spy mastermind, who faced a Kafkaesque struggle in 1970s Poland.
—Leo Barraclough, Variety, 18 Aug. 2024
Recent Examples of Synonyms for Kafkaesque
Adjective
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Eric Kohn, Green detailed the surreal process of working at the apex of the advertising industry.—
Christian Zilko,
IndieWire,
8 Feb. 2025
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Seal takes his namesake to new surreal heights in Mountain Dew‘s 2025 Super Bowl commercial.—
Lauren Coates,
Variety,
8 Feb. 2025
Adjective
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This is something incomprehensible to any human being.—
Caitlin McFall,
Fox News,
5 Feb. 2025
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The loss of Oakland’s MLB team and then the city’s greatest MLB son in the same year is an almost incomprehensible loss for fans like Peters, who feel abandoned by the league.—
Melissa Lockard,
The Athletic,
21 Dec. 2024
Adjective
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Local business ads sometimes ran to 10 pages with 30 plus Christmas business ads not being unusual and 12- 14 bars invited you to visit them.—
Bob Roepke,
Twin Cities,
7 Feb. 2025
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Such views are unusual, given how negative Chinese public opinion is about Japan, and vice versa.—
Ann Scott Tyson,
The Christian Science Monitor,
7 Feb. 2025
Adjective
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These are the people who, for some inexplicable reason, will park right next to you, even though there are hundreds of open spaces in the parking lot.—
Sherry Kuehl,
Kansas City Star,
12 Feb. 2025
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Leno has generally been good this season but was comically poor in this one, a poor pass to Pereira followed by an inexplicable howler.—
Roshane Thomas,
The Athletic,
15 Jan. 2025
Adjective
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Instead, try to ground yourself in the present and challenge irrational fears with evidence and logic.—
Amy Blankson,
Forbes,
20 Jan. 2025
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The historical 'attitude' (arrogance) in his acting has fueled MAGA, and his endorsements of Trump are undeniably overbearing and irrational.—
Tommy Tuberville,
Newsweek,
8 Jan. 2025
Adjective
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The need for troops was unfathomable to a cluster of humanitarian volunteers from southern Arizona at a tiny aid camp east of Sasabe, Ariz., where miles of border wall abruptly come to an end at an outcropping in the Sonoran Desert.—
Jack Healy,
New York Times,
13 Feb. 2025
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The amount was unfathomable, but their plan was to reorganize and start paying off the debt, members said.—
Teri Sforza,
Orange County Register,
9 Feb. 2025
Adjective
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In arguments that frequently ridiculed the government’s case as weak and illogical, Cotter emphasized that there is a hard line between lobbying and bribery.—
Ray Long,
Chicago Tribune,
28 Jan. 2025
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Second, this rationale for regulation proved to be illogical and fatuous as conceded by U.S. Courts and the Federal Communications Commission in the decades since.—
Carine Harb,
Newsweek,
9 Jan. 2025
Adjective
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The sometimes unintelligible lyrics roll out over spare acoustic guitar in what sounds like an unfinished demo.—
Gil Kaufman,
Billboard,
16 Jan. 2025
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From lobbing slow-motion, underhanded softballs of no public interest to failing to seek clarification for unintelligible tirades to ignoring or allowing falsehoods and blatant political spin, the interview serves less as a public service and more as a reminder of ...—
Becket Adams,
National Review,
12 Jan. 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Kafkaesque.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/Kafkaesque. Accessed 21 Feb. 2025.
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