absurdity

noun

ab·sur·di·ty | \ əb-ˈsər-də-tē

, -ˈzər-

plural absurdities

Definition of absurdity

1 : the quality or state of being absurd : absurdness They laughed at the absurdity of the situation.

2 : something that is absurd the absurdities of life

Synonyms More Example Sentences Learn More about absurdity

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Examples of absurdity in a Sentence

to say men can't cook as well as women is of course an absurdity the absurdity of expecting a 98-year-old woman to adequately supervise four six-year-olds

Recent Examples on the Web

On paper, Greener Grass, the new film being released by IFC Midnight, is another comedy tackling the absurdity of suburban living. — Marcus Jones, EW.com, "Watch the trailer for Greener Grass, a comedy exploring the 'extremes of polite behavior'," 22 Aug. 2019 In any case, even within the absurdities of the Heller ruling, there is plenty of room for gun restrictions. — Adam Gopnik, The New Yorker, "After El Paso and Dayton, Three Ways to Think About Mass Shootings," 6 Aug. 2019 With biting humor and Rabelaisian earthiness, Mr. Caja conveys the horrific absurdity of the AIDS epidemic as it was experienced by young gay men. — Arthur Lubow, New York Times, "In Chicago, Overlooked Achievements by L.G.B.T.Q. Artists," 2 Aug. 2019 After the brawl unfolded, which led to five ejections, players realized the absurdity of everything. — Bobby Nightengale, Cincinnati.com, "Trevor Bauer headed to the Cincinnati Reds; Yasiel Puig to the Cleveland Indians," 31 July 2019 The absurdity of the claims undermines NASA's seriousness of purpose. — Safi Bahcall, WIRED, "NASA Needs to Out-Crazy Elon Musk," 3 July 2019 Despite all of Nadia’s foreboding and dark humor—the occasional cosmic absurdity of the story that hints at a deeper scheme—Russian Doll hedges. — The New York Review of Books, "Daniel Drake," 25 Apr. 2019 Given the absurdity of backward time-travel, Wheeler’s experiment became an argument for anti-realism at the level of the quantum. — Quanta Magazine, "Closed Loophole Confirms the Unreality of the Quantum World," 25 July 2018 To be fair to CNN, the absurdity was at least partially a product of the absurdly large size of this year’s presidential field. — Los Angeles Times, "Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders to square off at debate, and Kamala Harris and Joe Biden get a rematch," 18 July 2019

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'absurdity.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.