Dictionary Definition
absurd adj
1 inconsistent with reason or logic or common
sense; "the absurd predicament of seeming to argue that virtue is
highly desirable but intensely unpleasant"- Walter Lippman [syn:
unreasonable]
2 completely devoid of wisdom or good sense; "the
absurd excuse that the dog ate his homework"; "that's a cockeyed
idea"; "ask a nonsensical question and get a nonsensical answer";
"a contribution so small as to be laughable"; "it is ludicrous to
call a cottage a mansion"; "a preposterous attempt to turn back the
pages of history"; "her conceited assumption of universal interest
in her rather dull children was ridiculous" [syn: cockeyed, derisory, idiotic, laughable, ludicrous, nonsensical, preposterous, ridiculous]
User Contributed Dictionary
English
Etymology
absurdus, from ab + surdus, (probably) a derivative from the root svar, to sound; not connected with surd: compare French absurde.Pronunciation
- /æbˈsɜːrd/
- Rhymes: -ɜː(r)d
Adjective
- Contrary to reason or propriety; obviously and flatly opposed to manifest truth; inconsistent with the plain
dictates of common
sense; logically
contradictory;
nonsensical;
ridiculous; as, an
absurd person, an absurd opinion; an absurd dream.
- Quotations
-
- This proffer is absurd and reasonless. - Shakespeare, Henry VI, Part I, V-iv
- This phrase absurd to call a villain great. - Alexander Pope
Usage notes
Among the synonyms:- Irrational is the weakest, denoting that which is plainly inconsistent with the dictates of sound reason; as, an irrational course of life.
- Foolish rises higher, and implies either a perversion of that faculty, or an absolute weakness or fatuity of mind; as, foolish enterprises.
- Absurd rises still higher, denoting that which is plainly opposed to received notions of propriety and truth; as, an absurd man, project, opinion, story, argument, etc.
- Preposterous rises still higher, and supposes an absolute inversion in the order of things; or, in plain terms, a "putting of the cart before the horse;" as, a preposterous suggestion, preposterous conduct, a preposterous regulation or law.
Synonyms
Translations
contrary to reason or propriety
- Albanian: absurd
- Danish: absurd, urimelig(t), latterlig(t), meningsløs(t), tåbelig(t)
- Dutch: absurd
- Estonian: absurdne
- Finnish: absurdi (Suomi), järjetön
- French: absurde
- German: absurd
- Hebrew: אבסורדית
- Ido: absurda
- Interlingua: absurde
- Italian: assurdo, assurda
- Japanese: 馬鹿らしい, 愚かな
- Latvian: absurdais bezjēdzīgais
- Macedonian: апсурд
- Norwegian: absurd, tåpelig
- Novial: absurdi
- Polish: absurd
- Portuguese: absurdo, absurda
- Romanian: absurd, iraţional
- Serbian: Apsurd
- Spanish: absurdo
- Swedish: absurd, befängd
Noun
- An absurdity. — Pope
- (with the) That which is absurd.
Derived terms
Translations
obsolete: an absurdity
- Dutch: absurd
- Japanese: 馬鹿
that which is absurd
- Japanese: 愚鈍
References
- Webster 1913
German
Adjective
Swedish
Adjective
Extensive Definition
Absurd can refer to:
- Absurdism, a philosophy born of existentialism
- absurdity, with small "a", is a form of surreal humour
- Theatre of the Absurd, an artform utilizing the philosophy of absurdism
- Absurd (band), a National Socialist Black Metal band.
- Absurd (Fluke song), an electronic music single by the band Fluke
- Cabaret Jar, a slang synonym for absurdity
- mathematics/logic: a statement that is clearly not correct, as in reductio ad absurdum
absurd in German: Absurd
absurd in Dutch: Absurd
absurd in Norwegian Nynorsk: Absurd
absurd in Polish: Absurd
absurd in Portuguese: Absurdo
absurd in Russian: Абсурд (значения)
absurd in Finnish: Absurdi
Synonyms, Antonyms and Related Words
Pickwickian, a bit thick, a
bit thin, abnormal,
amusing, anomalous, asinine, balmy, barred, beyond belief, bizarre, childish, closed-out, cockamamie, comic, contrary to reason,
crazy, curious, daft, disproportionate,
doubtable, doubtful, droll, dubious, dubitable, eccentric, empty, excluded, extravagant, fantastic, farcical, fatuitous, fatuous, foolish, freaked out, freaky, funny, futile, grotesque, hard of belief,
hard to believe, harebrained, high-flown,
hilarious, hollow, hopeless, humorous, idiotic, idle, illogical, imbecile, imbecilic, implausible, impossible, inane, incoherent, incommensurable,
incommensurate,
incompatible,
inconceivable,
incongruous,
inconsequent,
inconsistent,
inconsonant,
incredible, insane, irrational, irreconcilable, kooky, laughable, logically
impossible, loony,
ludicrous, mad, meaningless, monstrous, moronic, nonsensical, not deserving
belief, not possible, nuts,
nutty, odd, oddball, off, off the wall, open to doubt,
open to suspicion, out, out
of proportion, outlandish, outrageous, outre, oxymoronic, paradoxical, passing belief,
passing strange, peculiar, poppycockish, potty, preposterous, priceless, problematic, prohibited, quaint, queer, questionable, quizzical, rich, ridiculous, risible, rubbishy, ruled-out, screaming, self-contradictory,
senseless, silly, simple, singular, skimble-skamble,
staggering belief, strange, stupid, suspect, suspicious, tall, thick, thin, trashy, twaddling, twaddly, unbelievable, unconvincing, unearthly, ungodly, unimaginable, unreasonable, unsound, unthinkable, unworthy of
belief, vain, wacky, weird, whimsical, wild, witty, wondrous
strange