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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In the midst of this dilemma, Miss Huang offers a surreal solution to the problems children pose in 2025.—
Anna Mae Duane,
The Conversation,
5 Mar. 2025
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Karen Russell is known for surreal storytelling and fantastic language in work marked by slanted perspective and outlandish scenarios which illuminate dormant truths.—
Lauren LeBlanc,
Los Angeles Times,
5 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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In a twist that’s almost incomprehensible today, the Chinese government even officially adopted the US State Department’s method for reporting air quality.—
Zeyi Yang,
WIRED,
5 Mar. 2025
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This defendant’s actions are incomprehensible, and he will be held accountable.—
Stepheny Price,
Fox News,
18 Feb. 2025
Adjective
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Local meteorologists noted that these events were highly unusual for the region, with historical data showing only sporadic snowfall over the past several decades.—
Jim Foerster,
Forbes,
4 Mar. 2025
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Bringing such a case is highly unusual and winning a conviction would be difficult, according to current and former prosecutors.—
Glenn Thrush,
New York Times,
4 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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Which, kind of, explains Dylan’s latest inexplicable Instagram missive: a no-context re-post of a 2016 in-store performance by Machine Gun Kelly at Park Ave.—
Gil Kaufman,
Billboard,
27 Feb. 2025
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The glacial pacing and clunky script work in tandem with deviations from the source text, including an inexplicable bathtub masturbation scene, to make a cinematic crime for the ages.—
Eddie Mouradian,
Vulture,
24 Feb. 2025
Adjective
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Friedrich Nietzsche's idea of rationality, Apollonian, and the irrational passion, defined as Dionysian, have always been a sort of philosophical guide for Murano; his way of conceiving fashion.—
Alberto Calabrese,
Vogue,
4 Mar. 2025
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There’s a philosophical view, best associated with the scholar L. A. Paul, that the decision to have children is fundamentally irrational.—
Gideon Lewis-Kraus,
The New Yorker,
24 Feb. 2025
Adjective
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In this context, Roz’s sudden maternal reflexes are unfathomable.—
Armond White,
National Review,
26 Feb. 2025
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Create And Share Specific Messaging Beyond Privacy And Terms Artificial intelligence is progressing at a rate that's genuinely unfathomable to understand.—
Expert Panel®,
Forbes,
25 Feb. 2025
Adjective
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This is not illogical, in the same way that any blackmail makes sense on paper.—
Ross Rosenfeld,
Newsweek,
26 Feb. 2025
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There’s also the usual fare: the knightly armor, bone gear, and massive, completely illogical fixtures of clothing that would be physically impossible to wear or move around with in the real world.—
Josh Broadwell,
Rolling Stone,
24 Feb. 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
Articles Related to Kafkaesque
Cite this Entry
“Kafkaesque.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/Kafkaesque. Accessed 13 Mar. 2025.
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