1
as in surreal
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2
as in incomprehensible
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Recent Examples of Kafkaesque
This Kafkaesque saga began late Friday, when President Donald Trump quietly signed an order availing himself of a wartime authority to carry out the mass deportations.
—
Philip Elliott, TIME, 17 Mar. 2025
This defiant and entertaining work playfully uses headshots and avatars to visualize clandestine audio recordings documenting years of Kafkaesque impositions, threats, and vital dissident art.
—Samantha Bergeson, IndieWire, 10 Feb. 2025
The plot revolves around the Black protagonist’s Kafkaesque trial before the U.S. Supreme Court for supposedly attempting to restore slavery and segregation in his small, agrarian community near Los Angeles, and our hero’s reflections on what led him to this point.
—Barbara Ellis, The Denver Post, 3 Feb. 2025
Yet TikTok is still available in the U.S. in some sort of Kafkaesque legal limbo because President Trump refuses to enforce the law on the books.
—Philip Elliott, TIME, 28 Jan. 2025
Still, the most difficult aspect of the crisis is not the need to prepare for an unspecified economic threat from a close ally, but the need to cope with a sudden sense of almost Kafkaesque absurdity.
—Anne Applebaum, The Atlantic, 18 Jan. 2025
The Productivity Paradox Haly’s future is snagged in a heartbreaking and maddening plot twist, one that may seem all too familiar in our Kafkaesque healthcare system.
—Naveen Rao, Forbes, 22 Oct. 2024
His mirthless laugh might have suggested Kafkaesque persecution, or Hardyesque inexorability of fate.
—Tad Friend, The New Yorker, 21 Oct. 2024
Much like his success building houses in Muara Angke, Prabowo wants to sidestep Indonesia’s Kafkaesque bureaucracy with direct action.
—Charlie Campbell / Jakarta, TIME, 14 Oct. 2024
Philip Elliott, TIME, 17 Mar. 2025
This defiant and entertaining work playfully uses headshots and avatars to visualize clandestine audio recordings documenting years of Kafkaesque impositions, threats, and vital dissident art.
—Samantha Bergeson, IndieWire, 10 Feb. 2025
The plot revolves around the Black protagonist’s Kafkaesque trial before the U.S. Supreme Court for supposedly attempting to restore slavery and segregation in his small, agrarian community near Los Angeles, and our hero’s reflections on what led him to this point.
—Barbara Ellis, The Denver Post, 3 Feb. 2025
Yet TikTok is still available in the U.S. in some sort of Kafkaesque legal limbo because President Trump refuses to enforce the law on the books.
—Philip Elliott, TIME, 28 Jan. 2025
Still, the most difficult aspect of the crisis is not the need to prepare for an unspecified economic threat from a close ally, but the need to cope with a sudden sense of almost Kafkaesque absurdity.
—Anne Applebaum, The Atlantic, 18 Jan. 2025
The Productivity Paradox Haly’s future is snagged in a heartbreaking and maddening plot twist, one that may seem all too familiar in our Kafkaesque healthcare system.
—Naveen Rao, Forbes, 22 Oct. 2024
His mirthless laugh might have suggested Kafkaesque persecution, or Hardyesque inexorability of fate.
—Tad Friend, The New Yorker, 21 Oct. 2024
Much like his success building houses in Muara Angke, Prabowo wants to sidestep Indonesia’s Kafkaesque bureaucracy with direct action.
—Charlie Campbell / Jakarta, TIME, 14 Oct. 2024
Recent Examples of Synonyms for Kafkaesque
Adjective
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With stages set up in and around the Old West buildings that dot the grounds, a movie set where Nelson filmed his 1984 Western Red Headed Stranger, the vibe at Luck Reunion is both cinematic and surreal.—
Stephen Thomas Erlewine,
Rolling Stone,
14 Mar. 2025
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Most capture mundane experiences, impressive in their hyperrealistic way, but some are sublime, or surreal, or place you in a morally challenging position.—
Anna Russell,
The New Yorker,
14 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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Upon agreement, their dialogue shifts to a series of sounds incomprehensible to humans.—
Dr. Diane Hamilton,
Forbes,
25 Feb. 2025
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In a twist that’s almost incomprehensible today, the Chinese government even officially adopted the US State Department’s method for reporting air quality.—
Zeyi Yang,
WIRED,
5 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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Network security also gets a significant upgrade with the help of AI. Intrusion Detection Systems (IDS) powered by AI monitor traffic in real time, can flag unusual patterns that might indicate a security breach.—
Kathleen Walch,
Forbes,
16 Mar. 2025
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As a result, Canadians have rejected American imports and issued other economic punishments in an unusual show of patriotism.—
Alex Harring,
CNBC,
16 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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Nevertheless, the requirement did provide new information to researchers, employers and some patients about the nature of health care prices — and their wide and often inexplicable variation.—
Margot Sanger-Katz,
New York Times,
25 Feb. 2025
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Well, have no fear — for some inexplicable reason, this is actually A Chorus Line, but with characters from Wicked, Wizard of Oz, and The Wiz.—
Barry Levitt,
Vulture,
21 Feb. 2025
Adjective
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Many voters said Governor Whitmer’s order, which restricted an outdoor activity – gardening – seemed irrational and excessive, even at the time.—
Jacob Turcotte,
The Christian Science Monitor,
11 Mar. 2025
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But the widening gap between its real-world performance and analysts’ earnings estimates for unborn products has prompted some to warn of irrational exuberance.—
Chris Kirkham,
USA TODAY,
10 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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The breadth of that command is almost unfathomable.—
Dan Perry,
Newsweek,
28 Feb. 2025
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The idea that someone in the industrial sector had a past in film was almost unfathomable to them.—
Kody Boye,
USA TODAY,
21 Feb. 2025
Adjective
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Moreover, reality is incredibly illogical and multi-faceted, and people are so inconsistent and full of contradictions.—
Annika Pham,
Variety,
23 Jan. 2025
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This is not illogical, in the same way that any blackmail makes sense on paper.—
Ross Rosenfeld,
Newsweek,
26 Feb. 2025
Adjective
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Followers criticized TikToker Easton Simpson for using his spot at the Kingdom of the Planet of The Apes premiere to prank the film’s actors by asking unintelligible questions.—
CT Jones,
Rolling Stone,
6 Mar. 2025
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The sometimes unintelligible lyrics roll out over spare acoustic guitar in what sounds like an unfinished demo.—
Gil Kaufman,
Billboard,
16 Jan. 2025
Articles Related to Kafkaesque
Cite this Entry
“Kafkaesque.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/Kafkaesque. Accessed 24 Mar. 2025.
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