absurd
[ ab-surd, -zurd ]
/ æbˈsɜrd, -ˈzɜrd /
Save This Word!
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.
OTHER WORDS FOR absurd
QUIZ
QUIZ YOURSELF ON AFFECT VS. EFFECT!
In effect, this quiz will prove whether or not you have the skills to know the difference between “affect” and “effect.”
Question 1 of 7
The rainy weather could not ________ my elated spirits on my graduation day.
Meet Grammar CoachImprove Your Writing
Origin of absurd
synonym study for absurd
1. 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.
OTHER WORDS FROM absurd
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022
How to use absurd in a sentence
British Dictionary definitions for absurd
absurd
/ (əbˈsɜːd) /
adjective
at variance with reason; manifestly false
ludicrous; ridiculous
noun
the absurd (sometimes capital) philosophy the conception of the world, esp in Existentialist thought, as neither designed nor predictable but irrational and meaningless
See also theatre of the absurd
Derived forms of absurd
absurdity or absurdness, nounabsurdly, adverbWord Origin for absurd
C16: via French from Latin absurdus dissonant, senseless, from ab- 1 (intensive) + surdus dull-sounding, indistinct
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012