1
as in surreal
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2
as in incomprehensible
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Recent Examples of Kafkaesque
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
Among its recent publications is Kheir’s Kafkaesque novel about an Egyptian man released from prison after serving a seven-year sentence who tries to get his old job as a translator back.
—Michael Schaub, Oc Register, 25 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
In a particularly Kafkaesque explanation for why some of the Venezuelan migrants who have no criminal records were targeted for arrest and deportation, government lawyers argued in court that their lack of a criminal record is in itself cause for concern.
—Nisha Whitehead, Oc Register, 28 Mar. 2025
But Ned was declared dead last month by the Social Security Administration, which led him and his wife on a Kafkaesque quest to prove there’s life left in this salty old Seattle seadog yet.
—Matthew J. Friedman, CNN, 21 Mar. 2025
Emily Cegielski, Flow Space, 27 June 2025
Among its recent publications is Kheir’s Kafkaesque novel about an Egyptian man released from prison after serving a seven-year sentence who tries to get his old job as a translator back.
—Michael Schaub, Oc Register, 25 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
In a particularly Kafkaesque explanation for why some of the Venezuelan migrants who have no criminal records were targeted for arrest and deportation, government lawyers argued in court that their lack of a criminal record is in itself cause for concern.
—Nisha Whitehead, Oc Register, 28 Mar. 2025
But Ned was declared dead last month by the Social Security Administration, which led him and his wife on a Kafkaesque quest to prove there’s life left in this salty old Seattle seadog yet.
—Matthew J. Friedman, CNN, 21 Mar. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for Kafkaesque
Adjective
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The fallout was immediate, surreal, and more than a little revealing.—
Jesse Edwards,
MSNBC Newsweek,
11 July 2025
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Naomi Watts broke out with a surreal leading turn in David Lynch's Mulholland Drive (2001).—
EW.com,
EW.com,
11 July 2025
Adjective
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And as the discourse around it keeps stacking up, what started as a silly turn of phrase has devolved into an incomprehensible mess that’s preventing people from noticing the much more insidious shift around them.—
CT Jones,
Rolling Stone,
11 July 2025
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This is because for the first Daemon X Machina, the story was an incomprehensible mess.—
Ollie Barder,
Forbes.com,
9 June 2025
Adjective
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Their target area was unusual, though: a strip of lawn between the road and a fence bordering Interstate 65, where homeless people have set up about two dozen tents over the first half of this year.—
Jordan Smith,
IndyStar,
26 July 2025
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Summer storms cause travel headaches every year, but these numbers are not unusual.—
Zach Wichter,
USA Today,
26 July 2025
Adjective
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In a surprising and inexplicable way, as takeoffs and landings ceased, the feverish activity that airport grass hides under its seemingly peaceful surface came to a screeching halt.—
Fabio Morábito,
New Yorker,
24 July 2025
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Among the new cast, Sui Wonders’s Ava is the most direct Julie James avatar: the brainy brunette with a haunted look in her eyes and an inexplicable, undying lust for her high-school boyfriend.—
Rachel Handler,
Vulture,
18 July 2025
Adjective
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In the case of mania, a mental health symptom where patients experience irrational self-belief and happiness, models responded correctly 80% of the time.—
PC Magazine,
PC Magazine,
13 July 2025
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This tracks with an observation made by the journalist David Epstein, who writes in Range: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World that athletes from tiny towns have irrational levels of success.—
Henry Abbott,
The Atlantic,
12 July 2025
Adjective
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Blakely, along with 26 other Camp Mystic girls and counselors, perished in the deluge – forcing her family to endure yet another unfathomable tragedy.—
Pamela Brown,
CNN Money,
18 July 2025
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But Aicher’s message got through: This wasn’t a pickle, this was a full-fledged disaster, unfolding with unfathomable fury.—
Mirjam Swanson,
Oc Register,
11 July 2025
Adjective
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Some Gen Zers defended the stare as a response to illogical questions from customers, while others acknowledged it as a reflection of anxiety in social interactions.—
Rachel Hale,
USA Today,
16 July 2025
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The android, played by Alexander Skarsgård, is often fed up with humans and their illogical, self-defeating choices.—
Omar L. Gallaga,
Los Angeles Times,
11 July 2025
Adjective
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As satire, Next to Heaven is unintelligible, as though someone is universalizing their own hangups and then skewering them for clout.—
Book Marks
June 20,
Literary Hub,
20 June 2025
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Filled with uncanny creatures and unintelligible language, the book's inspiration came, Serafini muses, either from aliens, or his cat.—
David Morgan,
CBS News,
30 May 2025
Cite this Entry
“Kafkaesque.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/Kafkaesque. Accessed 30 Jul. 2025.
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