Kafkaesque

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Kafkaesque

/ˌkæfkəˈʔɛsk/ UK
/ˌkæfkəˈɹɛsk/ UK
/ˌkæfkəˈɛsk/ UK
/ˌkɑfkəˈʔɛsk/ US
/ˌkæfkəˈʔɛsk/ US
/ˌkɑfkəˈɛsk/ US
/ˌkæfkəˈɛsk/ US

Rhymes with -ɛsk

Where it comes from

From Kafka + -esque, after writer Franz Kafka. Piecewise doublet of Kafkaish.

adjective more Kafkaesque · most Kafkaesque

Marked by a senseless, disorienting, often menacing complexity. Kafkaesque bureaucracies
Marked by surreal distortion and often a sense of looming danger.
In the manner of something written by Franz Kafka.

Translations

Every language

adj marked by menacing complexity

Español	kafkiano
한국어	카프카적이다 kapeukajeogida
日本語	カフカ的 Kafukateki
हिन्दी	काफ़कएस्क kāfkaesk
Português	kafkiano
Français	kafkaïen
Deutsch	kafkaesk
Italiano	kafkiano
Ελληνικά	καφκικός kafkikós
Română	kafkaian, kafkian
Русский	кафкиа́нский kafkiánskij
العربية	كافايكي
עברית	קפקאי kafka'i

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MLA

"Kafkaesque." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/kafkaesque. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

Kafkaesque. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/kafkaesque

Chicago

"Kafkaesque." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/kafkaesque.

BibTeX

@misc{kafkaesque_2026,
  title = {Kafkaesque},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/kafkaesque},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}