English Explanatory Dictionary

Kafkaesque

English dictionary entry

Meanings

adj
  1. Marked by a senseless, disorienting, often menacing complexity.
  2. Marked by surreal distortion and often a sense of looming danger.
  3. In the manner of something written by Franz Kafka.

Pronunciation

/ˌkæfkəˈʔɛsk/ /ˌkæfkəˈɹɛsk/ /ˌkæfkəˈɛsk/ /ˌkɑfkəˈʔɛsk/ /ˌkɑfkəˈɛsk/ en-us-Kafkaesque-adj.ogg LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-Kafkaesque.wav

Word forms

Kafkaesque more Kafkaesque most Kafkaesque

Etymology

From Kafka + -esque, after writer Franz Kafka. Piecewise doublet of Kafkaish.

Related words

Kafkaian Kafkatrap Kafkian Dickensian Orwellian

Derived words

Kafkaesquely Kafkaesqueness unKafkaesque
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