absurd

adjective

utterly or obviously senseless, illogical, or untrue; contrary to all reason or common sense; laughably foolish or false: an absurd explanation.

noun

the quality or condition of existing in a meaningless and irrational world.

Origin:
1550–60; < Latin absurdus out of tune, uncouth, ridiculous. See ab-, surd

Related forms

ab·surd·ly, adverb

ab·surd·ness, noun

su·per·ab·surd, adjective

su·per·ab·surd·ly, adverb

su·per·ab·surd·ness, noun

Synonyms
1. irrational, silly, ludicrous, nonsensical. Absurd, ridiculous, preposterous all mean inconsistent with reason or common sense. Absurd means utterly opposed to truth or reason: an absurd claim. Ridiculous implies that something is fit only to be laughed at, perhaps contemptuously: a ridiculous suggestion. Preposterous implies an extreme of foolishness: a preposterous proposal.

Antonyms
1. logical, sensible.

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Relevant Questions

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Absurd is always a great word to know.

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causing repugnance; detestable; loathsome:

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Collins

World English Dictionary

absurd (əbˈsɜːd)

—*adj*
1.	at variance with reason; manifestly false
2.	ludicrous; ridiculous

—n
3.	(sometimes capital) philosophy the absurd the conception of the world, esp in Existentialist thought, as neither designed nor predictable but irrational and meaningless

[C16: via French from Latin absurdus dissonant, senseless, from ab-¹ (intensive) + surdus dull-sounding, indistinct]

ab'surdity

—n

ab'surdness

—n

ab'surdly

—*adv*

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline

Word Origin & History

absurd

1550s, from Fr. absurde, from L. absurdus "out of tune, foolish" (see absurdity).

Example sentences

The play is then rejected as senseless or as directly absurd, and by virtue of

reason it becomes impossible.

Driven by the almighty dollar, and an absurd honor code, football players

destroy themselves with multiple concussions.

With an absurd air of importance he talked aloud, giving instructions, making

comments on life.

With these things, you never can tell what's going to happen--something totally

absurd may happen.

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adjective argal black humor bosh cock-and-bull story cockeyed

Matching Quote

"At the heart of all beauty lies something inhuman, and these hills, the softness of the sky, the outline of these trees at this very minute lose the illusory meaning with which we had clothed them, henceforth more remote than a lost paradise ... that denseness and that strangeness of the world is absurd."

-Albert Camus