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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The video depicts a surreal world where a young man begins seeing the colorful patterns and iconography, like Swedish fish and other candies, that dedicated Candy Crush players will no doubt recognize.—
Christopher Cruz,
Rolling Stone,
6 Nov. 2025
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Combining the optimism of Don Quixote and Candide became the guide for my main character—an absolutely surreal, absurd optimist, who believes that even things way out of his league are possible for him.—
The New Yorker,
New Yorker,
5 Nov. 2025
Adjective
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The wealth at the top is incomprehensible — orders of magnitude beyond the numbers most of us glean from our own bank statements.—
Allison Morrow,
CNN Money,
6 Nov. 2025
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Elder millennial parents who may have trouble understanding what their kids are talking about will likely laugh along to how the comedians portray teens’ reliance on seemingly incomprehensible slang terms to communicate with each other.—
Stephanie Ganz,
Parents,
3 Nov. 2025
Adjective
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This translation by Nancy Naomi Carlson preserves the rich musicality of the original French, as well as its frequent use of wordplay and often unusual word choice.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
10 Nov. 2025
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Ostrich Leather Recognizable by its distinctive quill pattern and supple texture, ostrich leather combines durability with an unusual kind of beauty.—
Cortne Bonilla,
Vogue,
9 Nov. 2025
Adjective
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The Buffalo Bills followed up an impressive win over the Kansas City Chiefs, their long-time AFC nemesis, with an almost inexplicable flop against the Miami Dolphins in Week 10, losing 30-13 on the road.—
Max Dible,
MSNBC Newsweek,
11 Nov. 2025
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There were no major returning actors or ongoing storylines, save for the Yautja’s somewhat inexplicable obsession with intergalactic trophy hunting, and most attempts to reboot the property failed to explain why this series should exist in the first place.—
Christian Zilko,
IndieWire,
7 Nov. 2025
Adjective
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Satire is brilliant for exposing the folly of humans, especially those in power and those working in bad faith—the hypocrites and the frauds—and can be particularly potent when set in irrational or dystopic times.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
5 Nov. 2025
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But why are these fears irrational?—
Christopher Elliott,
USA Today,
4 Nov. 2025
Adjective
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Advisers were on hand to teach them the nuances of the Situation Room and the importance of maintaining calm under unfathomable stress.—
Patrick Ryan,
USA Today,
21 Oct. 2025
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That may sound unfathomable to any non-comic reader who watched Steven Yeun's Mark Grayson get bludgeoned, maimed, and nearly disemboweled (sorry, Atom Eve) in an episode-long, cities-spanning fight with Thragg's berzerker warrior, Conquest (Jeffrey Dean Morgan).—
Nick Romano,
Entertainment Weekly,
10 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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But then something strange happened.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
7 Nov. 2025
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This addictive, loping track is one of the best and strangest songs from the artist’s fifth album.—
The New Yorker,
New Yorker,
7 Nov. 2025
Adjective
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The removal of Spears' Instagram account comes after years of public concern and defense over her social media presence, in which the pop star has been seen posting dance videos (including with knives), sometimes with unintelligible and bizarre captions.—
Taijuan Moorman,
USA Today,
3 Nov. 2025
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The vendor said some other things that were unintelligible because of the overlap between her live speech and the lagging translation.—
Matteo Wong,
The Atlantic,
16 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Kafkaesque.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/Kafkaesque. Accessed 15 Nov. 2025.
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