Kafkaesque

adjective

Kaf·​ka·​esque ˌkäf-kə-ˈesk  ˌkaf- 

: of, relating to, or suggestive of Franz Kafka or his writings

especially : having a nightmarishly complex, bizarre, or illogical quality

Kafkaesque bureaucratic delays

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Kafkaesque Literature

Franz Kafka (1883-1924) was a Czech-born German-language writer whose surreal fiction vividly expressed the anxiety, alienation, and powerlessness of the individual in the 20th century. Kafka's work is characterized by nightmarish settings in which characters are crushed by nonsensical, blind authority. Thus, the word Kafkaesque is often applied to bizarre and impersonal administrative situations where the individual feels powerless to understand or control what is happening.

Examples of Kafkaesque in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The sheer volume of open warrants creates a Kafkaesque web of suspicion over people who share common names, regardless of jurisdiction or availability of complete information. —WIRED, 14 Sep. 2023

Each says a tick bite — about seven years ago for Georgina, the mom, and 15 for Madison — thrust them into the Kafkaesque world of chronic Lyme disease. —Kay Lazar, BostonGlobe.com, 29 Aug. 2023

The Kafkaesque conditions of the system have led baseball fans into a life of crime. —Kaitlyn Tiffany, The Atlantic, 6 July 2023

The process of applying for a green card while living in the U.S. is a Kafkaesque one, and, during the time that the application is being processed, you are not allowed to leave the country. —Deborah Treisman, The New Yorker, 19 June 2023

Last year, Doros and Heller co-founded the nonprofit organization Missing Movies to highlight the problem and help filmmakers navigate what can be a Kafkaesque maze of licensing and distribution deals made in a prestreaming world. —Josh Rottenberg, Los Angeles Times, 13 June 2023

Another, my daughter ran on cobblestones down a winding, Kafkaesque street in Prague. —Garrett Hongo, The New Yorker, 12 June 2023

Indeed, All to Play For can sometimes feel like an argument against a country’s sometimes overbearing and Kafkaesque social system, which is a rare thing in French movies that tend to be funded with state money. —Jordan Mintzer, The Hollywood Reporter, 25 May 2023

Yet on a deeper level, there is also something Kafkaesque about it all. —Jeremy Eichler, BostonGlobe.com, 13 May 2023

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Word History

First Known Use

1939, in the meaning defined above

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