ABSURD Synonyms: 198 Similar and Opposite Words

absurd

adjective

əb-ˈsərd

Definition of absurd

as in bizarre

conceived or made without regard for reason or reality absurd claims of having been abducted by UFO's

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in silly

showing or marked by a lack of good sense or judgment an absurd rule that bicycles are not allowed in the park

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in ridiculous

so foolish or pointless as to be worthy of scornful laughter it's absurd to expect to make a killing in the stock market overnight

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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 absurd Belgium played through the team’s once-fierce press with absurd ease. — Mark Sappenfield, Christian Science Monitor, 7 July 2026 There is perhaps nothing more patently absurd in modern corporate governance than a box-checking proxy adviser recommending against a wildly outperforming enterprise just to satisfy a theoretical checklist. — Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, Fortune, 6 July 2026 The songwriting is airtight, regal but sometimes necessarily absurd, and tastefully cognizant of which points in Madonna’s career are most beloved. — Craig Jenkins, Vulture, 6 July 2026 The lawyer takes the tenets of mindfulness to heart, and Dusse takes both these tenets and his protagonist to absurd – and sometimes shockingly violent – conclusions. — The Know, Denver Post, 5 July 2026 See All Example Sentences for absurd

Recent Examples of Synonyms for absurd

Adjective

When this place is eventually gone — a phrase that feels truly bizarre given the environment this summer and the half-century preceding it — the lasting images will be the seas of red.

— Sam McDowell Updated July 3, Kansas City Star, 4 July 2026
Continue reading … 'DEEPLY WEIRD' — CNN panel's bizarre 'read as Jewish' comment about a senator draws fierce blowback.

— , FOXNews.com, 3 July 2026

Definition of bizarre

Adjective

Sevigny holds firm to Tatum’s hard-to-love jerkishness, which helps smooth over the serious arguments that can turn inadvertently silly (and amplifies the purely silly ones).

— Ben Travers, IndieWire, 9 July 2026
The post also included a sweet selfie with her two younger sons, with Mateo smiling widely and Ciro making a silly face for the camera.

— Charna Flam, PEOPLE, 8 July 2026

Definition of silly

Adjective

May this child wind up miserable with nothing but her ridiculous pieces of headwear to keep her company.

— Maggie Fremont, Vulture, 11 July 2026
That ridiculous output makes the hypercar the third most powerful production vehicle in the world, trailing only the Koenigsegg Gemera, which makes 2,300 hp, and the Rimac Nevera R, which makes 2,107 hp.

— Bryan Hood, Robb Report, 7 July 2026

Definition of ridiculous

Adjective

Comparing Young’s new deal to any extension for Davis would be a foolish exercise.

— Josh Robbins, New York Times, 30 June 2026
Further, Plato’s disdain for Gorgias, Antisthenes’ first teacher, and sophistry in general is clear; in the Platonic dialogue Gorgias, the titular character is made out to be rather foolish.

— Theodore McDarrah, Forbes.com, 26 June 2026

Definition of foolish

Adjective

Even when Romanzy goes off on how stupid and ugly Caleb is — and gossips that his parents abandoned him because something must be wrong with him — Mary goes along with it.

— Maggie Fremont, Vulture, 11 July 2026
Shockingly, the letter seems to be pushing for a return to standardized tests by, in effect, arguing that a growing percentage of their students are simply too stupid to succeed, no matter what professors do.

— Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 8 July 2026

Definition of stupid

Adjective

Never in my lifetime has pathetic nostalgia for the white man’s republic been closer to the center of power.

— Brian DeLay, Mercury News, 4 July 2026
Instagram Plus is social media’s newest low—a company preying on our most pathetic impulses, for the price of a small iced coffee.

— Annie Joy Williams, The Atlantic, 28 June 2026

Definition of pathetic

Adjective

These digital technologies have also created an echo chamber of self-confirming views, which has contributed to an unreal, simplified view of a nuanced, messy world.

— Simon Sebag Montefiore, The Atlantic, 28 June 2026
The air is fresh and clean, the pace is calm, and the views are unreal.

— Alexandra Emanuelli, Travel + Leisure, 28 June 2026

Definition of unreal

Adjective

England’s 2-1 victory against Mexico — and that insane Azteca Stadium crowd — also was richly deserved.

— Miami Herald, Miami Herald, 7 July 2026
Allowing Trump to declare insane levels of tariffs would have been really bad for the economy and bad for Republicans.

— Isaac Chotiner, New Yorker, 6 July 2026