absurd
inconsistent with reason or logic or common sense
How often you will meet it
Rank 2,478 of 71,295 words measured. It occurs 6,868 times across 175,160 chapters — 0.003% of every word in the library.
What it means
adjective
- inconsistent with reason or logic or common sense the absurd predicament of seeming to argue that virtue is highly desirable but intensely unpleasant
- so unreasonable as to invite derision also: cockeyed, derisory, idiotic, laughable, ludicrous, nonsensical the absurd excuse that the dog ate his homeworkthat's a cockeyed idea
noun
- a situation in which life seems irrational and meaningless also: the absurd The absurd is the essential concept and the first truth
absurd in real books
Each sentence below was written by a published author and is taken from a different book in our library. Open one to read the passage it came from, with narration.
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To take an example which I quote because it is so absurd.
The Mahatma and the Hare: A Dream Story · H. Rider (Henry Rider) Haggard · Chapter 1
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You have filled him with your wild, radical, and absurd heroic rhapsodies.
Representative Plays by American Dramatists — Love in '76 · Oliver Bell Bunce · Chapter 1
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An owlish head, with dark moustaches, was thrust in, with deprecating and somewhat absurd inquiry.
The Club of Queer Trades · G. K. (Gilbert Keith) Chesterton · Chapter 1
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The too cruel scenes which had just taken place were to them like the absurd incidents of a horrible nightmare.
Other People's Money · Emile Gaboriau · Chapter 1
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Don't you see how absurd it is that Carlos, Maria, or any one else should have had a hand in it?
The Abandoned Room · Wadsworth Camp · Chapter 1