Kafkaesque

adjective

Definition of Kafkaesquenext
1
as in surreal

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Dissimilar Words
2
as in incomprehensible

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Dissimilar Words

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of Kafkaesque 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 See All Example Sentences for Kafkaesque
Recent Examples of Synonyms for Kafkaesque
  1. surreal
  2. incomprehensible
  3. unusual
  4. inexplicable
  5. irrational
  6. unfathomable
  7. strange
  8. unintelligible
Adjective
  • When Mary enters the haunting, surreal spaces looking for Clark, terror awaits her.
    — Tim Lammers, Forbes.com, 11 July 2026
  • Formed from volcanic pumice sculpted by the wind and sea, Sarakiniko’s lunar-like appearance, contrasting with cobalt waters, is surreal.
    — Helen Iatrou, Travel + Leisure, 11 July 2026
Definition of surreal
Adjective
  • There have been times when acts of atrocity have been going on — and gosh, some of those things are incomprehensible — yet humanity has found a way.
    — Ryan Gajewski, HollywoodReporter, 27 June 2026
  • Being joyful there — in the Dominican Republic, where small shacks and houses pieced together by junkyard scraps sometimes hold families with over a dozen members — seems incomprehensible.
    — Daniel Flick, AJC.com, 25 June 2026
Definition of incomprehensible
Adjective
  • Although his adoption listing didn't mention his unusual paws, his foster mom did.
    — Moná Thomas, PEOPLE, 5 July 2026
  • Indeed, that has led to the highly unusual situation of Australia not being the defending champions in either women’s World Cup, with India holding the 50-over title and New Zealand the T20 crown.
    — Paul Newman, New York Times, 5 July 2026
Definition of unusual
Adjective
  • They were shocked by their inexplicable sloppiness, by a flop that not a single one of them could answer for.
    — Henry Bushnell, New York Times, 7 July 2026
  • And those benefits, the story goes, are endangered by an inexplicable quirk in the law that applies Social Security payroll taxes to only the first $184,500 in annual wages (a figure that rises annually with wage inflation).
    — Jessica Riedl, The Atlantic, 6 July 2026
Definition of inexplicable
Adjective
  • Their ideas about it were often steeped in stereotypes suggesting that Buddhists were irrational and childish in their thinking.
    — Livia Gershon, JSTOR Daily, 7 July 2026
  • Scammers often use isolation tactics in phone calls to panic the listener and rush them into making irrational choices that often have financial costs.
    — Ella Moore July 2, Miami Herald, 2 July 2026
Definition of irrational
Adjective
  • Google Books and the Internet Archive represent libraries of unfathomable proportions.
    — Rose Horowitch, The Atlantic, 8 July 2026
  • Much of what already happened was unfathomable when RCX Sports won the NFL FLAG contract, which has been renewed several times.
    — Tim Graham, New York Times, 2 July 2026
Definition of unfathomable
Adjective
  • Others may miss the warmth of a person who can read the room, handle a strange request or help when something goes wrong.
    — Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 5 July 2026
  • Canada coach Jesse Marsch gives strange interview after Morocco World Cup loss.
    — Alex Connor, USA Today, 5 July 2026
Definition of strange
Adjective
  • The world premiere on Sunday – in the presence of Illumination boss Chris Meledandri and director Pierre Coffin, who is also the origin of the minions’ unintelligible chatter – kicks off one of the biggest Annecy Film Festival’s yet.
    — Melanie Goodfellow, Deadline, 19 June 2026
  • The adversaries made for a striking scene, exchanging insults in mutually unintelligible languages in the dead of night.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 16 June 2026
Definition of unintelligible

Browse Nearby Words

kaffeeklatsches
Kafkaesque
kahuna
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Cite this Entry

“Kafkaesque.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/Kafkaesque. Accessed 14 Jul. 2026.

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