absurd

CEFRB2

/əbˈsɜːd/

adjective

Türkçe translations

Translating…

In plain English

  1. 01

    adjective

    Completely unreasonable or silly.

  2. 02

    adjective

    Extra detail

    Having no rational or orderly relationship to people's lives; meaningless; lacking order or value.

Examples

  • That uniform makes the guards look absurd.

  • You cannot achieve the impossible without attempting the absurd.

At a glance

Sits at B2 on the CEFR scale

Senses
5
Parts of speech
1
Citations
5
Synonyms
5

Also pronounced

  • /əbˈzɜːd/

Deep Dive

adjective

Extra meanings

  1. Inharmonious; dissonant.

  2. Contrary to reason or propriety; obviously and flatly opposed to manifest truth; inconsistent with the plain dictates of common sense; logically contradictory; nonsensical; ridiculous; silly.

  3. Dealing with absurdism.

More examples

In context

  • Your method of teaching English is absurd.

  • 'Tis phrase absurd to call a villain great

  • This proffer is absurd and reasonless.

Synonyms

Quick test

Two questions on this entry. Nothing is scored.

Question 1 · Quick check

His suggestion to build a rocket from cardboard was completely blank.

Practise this properly in the app, where the word comes back before you forget it.

Nearby

Origin

adjective

First attested in 1557. From Middle French absurde, from Latin absurdus (“incongruous, dissonant, out of tune”), from ab (“away from, out”) + surdus (“silent, deaf, dull-sounding”). Compare surd.