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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This is the sort of movie that thinks nothing of dropping in a human-centipede roundabout of bootlicking and the surreal sight of a PR guru’s head turning into a video screen.—
David Fear,
Rolling Stone,
28 Mar. 2026
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The immersive-entertainment company’s alien theme fits well within the surreal sculptures at its Denver outpost as designers and models take the stage at its Perplexiplex venue for a night of beautiful and bizarre creations.—
John Wenzel,
Denver Post,
26 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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Chloe’s arrival felt almost incomprehensible to a couple who once believed parenthood was out of reach.—
Lydia Patrick,
MSNBC Newsweek,
29 Mar. 2026
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The permanent layoff of approximately 300 workers at the Searles Valley Minerals Trona plant will have an incomprehensible impact on our High Desert communities.—
Rosilicie Ochoa Bogh,
Oc Register,
21 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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The rapid melting is also increasing avalanche activity in unusual places.—
Callie Zanandrie,
CBS News,
27 Mar. 2026
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But Chris Piper, manager of public policy and stakeholder engagement at the Partnership for Public Service, said the length of time that has passed since Means' rescheduled confirmation hearing also is unusual.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
26 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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An ominous, inexplicable sound that floods dread into your every waking step, and that will eventually drive you to suicide or murder?—
Ryan Lattanzio,
IndieWire,
25 Mar. 2026
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Even less weighty decisions were sometimes inexplicable to him.—
Eric Boodman,
Vulture,
25 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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There’s something both early American and midcentury modern in the design of these solid-oak vanities, which arrived just as everyone seems to have gotten over an irrational fear of brown furniture.—
Nicole Hoey,
Robb Report,
31 Mar. 2026
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The answer turned out to be four more years of sacrifice, struggle, and hope that must have felt, at times, completely irrational.—
Sharon McMahon,
Glamour,
25 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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Then men had the grit, the unfathomable grit, to claw back from a 19-point deficit to win one of the most dramatic games in the history of either team.—
Dom Amore,
Hartford Courant,
30 Mar. 2026
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The industry still cannot come to grips with the previously unfathomable scenario of the strait staying shuttered for a prolonged period of time.—
Jordan Blum,
Fortune,
28 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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Some 18 months ago, Mack said, the Royals launched a deep dive after Picollo broached the possibility of exploring strange new worlds.—
Kansas City Star,
Kansas City Star,
31 Mar. 2026
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But rather than avoiding strange quantum phenomena such as superposition and entanglement, Bennett and Brassard embraced them.—
Joseph Howlett,
Scientific American,
31 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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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
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Later audio intel from subsidiary figures is likewise frequently rendered unintelligible by distortion, staticky transmission, etc.—
Dennis Harvey,
Variety,
2 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Kafkaesque.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/Kafkaesque. Accessed 2 Apr. 2026.
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