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
-
That film, which starred Stanfield alongside Tessa Thompson, established Riley as a filmmaker unafraid to blend satire with surreal, often dissonant ideas.—
Kennedy French,
Variety,
27 Jan. 2026
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Everything about the story was shocking—the fact of the gun, the lapse in security, the surreal death of one of the most powerful men in the country.—
E. Tammy Kim,
New Yorker,
26 Jan. 2026
Adjective
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For consumers frustrated by disconnected portals, incomprehensible medical jargon and five-minute doctor visits, this feels like a lifeline.—
Sahar Hashmi,
Forbes.com,
25 Jan. 2026
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The film deserves an enormous amount of credit for its sound design, which allows Tuason to turn recordings that would be incomprehensible in less capable hands into something that keeps audiences on the edge of their seats for two thirds of a movie.—
Christian Zilko,
IndieWire,
25 Jan. 2026
Adjective
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This storm is unusual in that normally, the type of system that brings us big snow chances comes in from the southwest with a low-pressure track that takes it almost due north.—
Ron Smiley,
CBS News,
22 Jan. 2026
-
But for an amphibian, this is a highly unusual and evolutionarily creative solution.—
Scott Travers,
Forbes.com,
22 Jan. 2026
Adjective
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So the choice to focus this one on a makeover for Margaret, a character two levels removed from the plot, is particularly inexplicable.—
Ben Rosenstock,
Vulture,
5 Jan. 2026
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The network put the kibosh on this story for inexplicable reasons.—
Letters to the Editor,
The Orlando Sentinel,
4 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
Tempering the not-so-irrational fears out there about AI replacing human workers, Jensen offered a more optimistic view.—
Zev Fima,
CNBC,
21 Jan. 2026
-
In that space, intuition, which was once dismissed as irrational or unreliable, has started to re-enter the conversation.—
William Jones
January 21,
Miami Herald,
21 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
God grant me the grace to forgive also, despite my unfathomable trauma.—
John Blake,
CNN Money,
8 Jan. 2026
-
On the contrary, over his previous four games (featuring three Knicks losses), Towns shot 4-of-9 from the field against the New Orleans Pelicans, 5-of-10 against the San Antonio Spurs, 6-of-16 against the Philadelphia 76ers and an unfathomable one-of-four against the Detroit Pistons.—
Kristian Winfield,
New York Daily News,
8 Jan. 2026
Adjective
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The choice of Olivier Boscagli at left-back at Fulham, for example, a contributing factor in Chukwueze’s equaliser, was strange.—
Andy Naylor,
New York Times,
28 Jan. 2026
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In a dispatch from Minneapolis, chaun webster considers the strange familiarity of ICE and the limits of our language.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
27 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
As satire, Next to Heaven is unintelligible, as though someone is universalizing their own hangups and then skewering them for clout.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
17 Dec. 2025
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A number of individuals who were in that classroom told authorities that the gunman shouted an unintelligible statement and then began shooting students.—
Chris Spargo,
PEOPLE,
15 Dec. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Kafkaesque.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/Kafkaesque. Accessed 30 Jan. 2026.
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