1
as in surreal
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2
as in incomprehensible
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of Kafkaesque
Those who value and respect America but couldn’t find their way through the Kafkaesque immigration system deserve a chance to rectify their situation.
—
Agustina Vergara Cid, Oc Register, 10 Aug. 2025
In a Kafkaesque twist, Trump’s chart assigns Eswatini the lowest possible (10 percent) reciprocal tariff, despite the fact the nation applies the same external tariffs as Lesotho.
—Robert Goulder, Forbes.com, 28 July 2025
To be fair, dealing with any healthcare bureaucracy in America is sure to be frustrating and annoying, and will most likely turn into a Kafkaesque nightmare.
—Emily Cegielski, Flow Space, 27 June 2025
Obtaining a permit to fly a drone in Nepal as a foreigner was a somewhat Kafkaesque exercise in patience.
—Ben Ayers, Outside Online, 6 May 2025
These are intentional Kafkaesque problems that the Trump Administration is creating.
—Grace Byron, New Yorker, 29 Apr. 2025
No one wants to have their family vacation turned into some Kafkaesque nightmare at the hands of ICE agents emboldened by the country's general climate of incipient fascism.
—Matt Robison, MSNBC Newsweek, 16 Apr. 2025
That standard was used to suppress the speech of faculty, such as Northwestern professor Laura Kipnis, who in a Kafkaesque turn was the subject of a legal complaint by students under Title IX for writing an op-ed column criticizing the Obama view of Title IX.
—The Editors, National Review, 16 Apr. 2025
Agustina Vergara Cid, Oc Register, 10 Aug. 2025
In a Kafkaesque twist, Trump’s chart assigns Eswatini the lowest possible (10 percent) reciprocal tariff, despite the fact the nation applies the same external tariffs as Lesotho.
—Robert Goulder, Forbes.com, 28 July 2025
To be fair, dealing with any healthcare bureaucracy in America is sure to be frustrating and annoying, and will most likely turn into a Kafkaesque nightmare.
—Emily Cegielski, Flow Space, 27 June 2025
Obtaining a permit to fly a drone in Nepal as a foreigner was a somewhat Kafkaesque exercise in patience.
—Ben Ayers, Outside Online, 6 May 2025
These are intentional Kafkaesque problems that the Trump Administration is creating.
—Grace Byron, New Yorker, 29 Apr. 2025
No one wants to have their family vacation turned into some Kafkaesque nightmare at the hands of ICE agents emboldened by the country's general climate of incipient fascism.
—Matt Robison, MSNBC Newsweek, 16 Apr. 2025
That standard was used to suppress the speech of faculty, such as Northwestern professor Laura Kipnis, who in a Kafkaesque turn was the subject of a legal complaint by students under Title IX for writing an op-ed column criticizing the Obama view of Title IX.
—The Editors, National Review, 16 Apr. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for Kafkaesque
Adjective
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Elaborate stages are built for the camera close-ups as much as the crowd, often featuring prefab cinematic interludes, ornately detailed costumes, titillating dance moves and surreal, maximalist graphics.—
Andrea Domanick,
Los Angeles Times,
26 Apr. 2026
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The White House press briefing room took on a surreal appearance as the speakers and interrogators dressed in tuxedoes and evening gowns for one of the most elegant and anticipated parties of the year became a crime scene instead.—
Zac Anderson,
USA Today,
26 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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The majesty of the natural world and the incomprehensible vastness of space are almost infinitely rearrangeable variables for documentarians.—
David Faris,
TheWeek,
13 Apr. 2026
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Arthur is a creepy dude, a generic-looking cellphone store employee with an incomprehensible plan.—
Amy Nicholson,
Los Angeles Times,
9 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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The barbed fact is that the woman caught in the middle of this unusual male arrangement benefits from none of their newfound emotional enlightenment.—
Alexandra Schwartz,
New Yorker,
24 Apr. 2026
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Trent Richardson and Saquon Barkley are the only running backs who have been drafted in the top three picks in the last two decades of the NFL draft, but Jeremiyah Love joins that group as the Cardinals take the unusual move of drafting a back this high.—
Andrew Greif,
NBC news,
24 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
Made even more inexplicable by his own background.—
Ian Miller OutKick,
FOXNews.com,
26 Apr. 2026
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Perhaps the most inexplicable one was third-base coach and outfield and base-running instructor Kyle Hudson.—
Ken Rosenthal,
New York Times,
26 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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Surveys show a 50-50 divide, but Trump’s real base is his same irrational 30%.—
Sun Sentinel Editorial Board,
Sun Sentinel,
24 Apr. 2026
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Letting Jinx stay is yet another act of irrational love from Margo.—
Erin Qualey,
Vulture,
15 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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The Balcony is textbook Manet—grand in ambition, ingeniously composed, visually charismatic, and socially unfathomable.—
Susan Tallman,
The New York Review of Books,
25 Apr. 2026
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This release coincides with the tenth anniversary of the death of His Purple Highness, the singer, songwriter, producer, philanthropist, musician and multi-instrumentalist with an unfathomable life and work.—
Darío Gael Blanco,
Vanity Fair,
25 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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The truck had been at the head of a column of seven rescue vehicles, all of which had received clearance from the tower to cross Runway 4 at Taxiway D and head toward a United Airlines flight that was evacuating due to a strange odor onboard.—
Evan Simko-Bednarski,
New York Daily News,
28 Apr. 2026
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On World Rhythms, Lockwood trusts the listener to hear the arc of its noises, to trace their emergence and disappearance, their strange, seductive confluence.—
Joshua Minsoo Kim,
Pitchfork,
28 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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In it, a local TV meteorologist played by Emily Blunt goes mute mid-broadcast and comes out instead with a series of unintelligible noises that rivet viewers.—
Matt Grobar,
Deadline,
15 Apr. 2026
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Instead, first-time director Fergus Campbell drops us directly into Cleo’s world — no parents, no rules and every authority figure is obscured, like the unintelligible adults in Peanuts cartoons.—
Jourdain Searles,
HollywoodReporter,
20 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Kafkaesque.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/Kafkaesque. Accessed 1 May. 2026.
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