1
as in surreal
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2
as in incomprehensible
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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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Not Pop, not Funk, not surreal or Conceptual, and certainly not Minimal, Nilsson’s work is practically an advertisement for postwar Chicago’s alternative tradition.—
Jeremy Lybarger,
Artforum,
2 June 2026
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In the wildly surreal satire, Liu plays a Chinese factory worker named Jianhu, who teleports into the Bay Area and starts robbing clothing stores as a middle finger to fashion mogul Christie Smith (Demi Moore), who has made working conditions untenable in China.—
Patrick Ryan,
USA Today,
2 June 2026
Adjective
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Europeans, Bennett notes, find this genuinely incomprehensible.—
Nick Lichtenberg,
Fortune,
11 May 2026
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Ashly's death is an incomprehensible tragedy.—
Julia Bonavita,
FOXNews.com,
6 May 2026
Adjective
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Since arriving at the zoo, the buffalo has attracted large crowds and sparked debate over its unusual nickname.—
Michael Sinkewicz,
FOXNews.com,
4 June 2026
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What’s unusual is to see these elements presented so grandly on a stage as big as The Bushnell’s and presented in a manner that doesn’t compromise a dark tale of anger, revenge, dangerous romance, desperation and survival.—
Christopher Arnott,
Hartford Courant,
4 June 2026
Adjective
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That’s inexplicable given the severe consequences in an urban area.—
The Editorial Board,
Oc Register,
27 May 2026
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The passage leads them to discuss the challenges of adapting Morrison’s novels for film, the power of evoking the inexplicable, and the influence of African folk tales on Morrison’s work.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
26 May 2026
Adjective
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Carpenter says the disturbing encounters left her fearful for her safety and that of relatives living with her, as police label the suspect’s fixation irrational and increasingly dangerous.—
Emily St. Martin,
Los Angeles Times,
2 June 2026
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Great startups often look irrational at first.—
Anna Demeo,
Forbes.com,
31 May 2026
Adjective
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This is not like building to be able to compete with the relentless depth of the Thunder or the unfathomable length of Victor Wembanyama and youth of the Spurs.—
Ira Winderman,
Sun Sentinel,
30 May 2026
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Somehow, the Avs found a different, yet equally unfathomable way to lose.—
Corey Masisak,
Denver Post,
27 May 2026
Adjective
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The author could herself be considered predatorial, having written her own children in as the books’ protagonists, saddling them with a strange kind of fame.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
2 June 2026
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This strange occurrence echoes what happened at the top of the dot-com bubble 26 years ago.—
Lim Hui Jie,
CNBC,
2 June 2026
Adjective
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Death penalty states generally allow last statements from the execution chamber, but Texas catalogs the prisoners’ last words online, except for vulgar and racist language or what sounds unintelligible.—
Erik Ortiz,
NBC news,
20 May 2026
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The man responded, but his words are unintelligible in the recording.—
Charlotte Observer,
Charlotte Observer,
20 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Kafkaesque.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/Kafkaesque. Accessed 7 Jun. 2026.
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