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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Her writing is surreal and inventive, always.—
Bryan West,
USA Today,
3 Oct. 2025
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Earlier this week, Anderson made his womenswear debut at Dior, where footwear codes turned equally surreal — from oversized rosette mules to feather-like embellishments.—
Maggie Clancy,
Footwear News,
3 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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And the thought of McDavid leaving Edmonton under any condition once felt incomprehensible.—
Eric Stephens,
New York Times,
1 Oct. 2025
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His way through was by finding connection with a character whose deeds seem incomprehensible.—
Daniel D'Addario,
Variety,
30 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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This is not particularly unusual, and in a traditional 4-2-3-1 system, forcing a team down one side is effective.—
Jacob Tanswell,
New York Times,
6 Oct. 2025
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The lawsuit is the first to challenge the administration's unusual use of partisan messaging in government communications during the shutdown, which legal experts told NPR may violate federal ethics laws.—
Shannon Bond,
NPR,
5 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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Because what happened on Saturday was inexplicable.—
Chris Vannini,
New York Times,
5 Oct. 2025
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Perhaps there’s a haunting to be had in this injustice; perhaps these war dead, with the truth of their deaths hidden and covered up at the time, have left their own ghostly imprint upon the bay, drawing forth further inexplicable sights, sounds, and activity.—
Leanna Renee Hieber,
Big Think,
2 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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Jim Edwards InvestingMarkets Back in the ’90s a Fed chief warned about ‘irrational exuberance’ in the markets.—
Geoff Colvin,
Fortune,
30 Sep. 2025
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Those poor scientists – their federal funding has been taken away, their research programs scrapped, and their rigorous scientific findings ignored in favor of one man’s irrational, uninformed opinion.—
Rafael Perez,
Oc Register,
25 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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That's unfathomable, that's unacceptable, that's unconscionable, and that's un-American.—
John Parkinson,
ABC News,
30 Sep. 2025
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The idea of the Tigers making a deep October run would be unprecedented but not unfathomable.—
Cody Stavenhagen,
New York Times,
29 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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The composition has many hallmarks of surrealism, including dream logic – the strange, flowing and often illogical progression of images reflecting the unpredictable nature of dreams – metamorphosis and psychic ambiguity.—
Sally Jane Brown,
The Conversation,
29 Sep. 2025
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Instead, the extended frenzy of construction has generated an illogical new rule of real estate: As supply increases, so does cost.—
Justin Davidson,
Curbed,
22 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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However, audio quality can make or break social media content and while some people can tolerate less-than-perfect video, poor and unintelligible sound often has audiences swiping left.—
Mark Sparrow,
Forbes.com,
24 June 2025
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Airports and airplanes do not have a monopoly on unintelligible announcements.—
Michel A. Ibrahim,
Baltimore Sun,
22 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Kafkaesque.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/Kafkaesque. Accessed 8 Oct. 2025.
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