Kafka

American  

[kahf-kah, -kuh] / ˈkɑf kɑ, -kə /

noun

1. Franz 1883–1924, Austrian novelist and short-story writer, born in Prague.

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Kafka British  

/ ˈkæfkə, ˌkæfkəˈɛsk, ˈkafka /

noun

1. Franz (frants). 1883–1924, Czech novelist writing in German. In his two main novels The Trial (1925) and The Castle (1926), published posthumously against his wishes, he portrays man's fear, isolation, and bewilderment in a nightmarish dehumanized world

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Other Word Forms

• Kafkaesque adjective

Example Sentences

Askell excelled at math, read Franz Kafka, acted in plays, made sculptures, immersed herself in Scottish history books and hung out with what she calls “the nerd group” at school.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 9, 2026

Here, Melville is an American Kafka or Gogol, and in this guise, he skewers our pervasive national ethos that values ambition and striving above all.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 5, 2026

Giants interim coach Mike Kafka agreed with Koo’s account.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 2, 2025

Krasznahorkai, 71, is "a great epic writer in the Central European tradition that extends through Kafka to Thomas Bernhard, and is characterised by absurdism and grotesque excess," the jury said in a statement.

From Barron's • Oct. 9, 2025

It even attracted the young, depressive Franz Kafka, soon to be a great writer, now aimlessly wandering around Europe.

From "The Mona Lisa Vanishes" by Nicholas Day