Definition of Kafkaesque

1. Adjective. Relating to or in the manner of Franz Kafka or his writings.

Partainyms: Kafka

2. Adjective. Characterized by surreal distortion and a sense of impending danger. "The kafkaesque terror of the endless interrogations"
Similar to: Unrealistic

Definition of Kafkaesque

1. Adjective. Marked by a senseless, disorienting, often menacing complexity. ¹

2. Adjective. Marked by surreal distortion and often a sense of impending danger. ¹

3. Adjective. In the manner of something written by Franz Kafka. ¹

¹ Source: wiktionary.com

Lexicographical Neighbors of Kafkaesque

kaffiyas
kaffiyeh
kaffiyehs
kaffle
kaffles
kafila
kafilah
kafilahs
kafilas
kafindo
kafir
kafir corn
kafirin
kafirins
kafirs
kafkaesque (current term)
kaflooey
kafs
kafta
kafta kebab
kaftan
kaftans
kagan
kaganate
kaganates
kage
kago
kagok
kagome
kagool

Literary usage of Kafkaesque

Below you will find example usage of this term as found in modern and/or classical literature:

1. Winging It . . . by Gyeorgos C. Hatonn (1994)
"When the judge reduced the sentence to six months in prison, Justice Department prosecutors appealed, seeking to have kafkaesque imprisoned for almost three ..."

2. Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of English Usage by Inc. Merriam-Webster (1994)
"1971 As I see it, there is still another telling kafkaesque dimension to Watergate now that President Ford has written his version of The End. It is the ..."

3. A Providential Anti-Semitism: Nationalism and Polity in Nineteenth Century by William O. Oldson (1991)
"The British minister to Bucharest, William White, reported to the Foreign Office on the kafkaesque paperwork requirements. Ignoring the unsettled recent ..."

4. Calendar of the Peruvian and Other South American Manuscripts in the Philip edited by David M. Szewcyk (2007)
"Historians of Spanish American bureaucracy and administration, as well as anyone taken with kafkaesque situations,will follow with bewilderment the plight ..."

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