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absurd

/əbˈsɜːd/ (Received-Pronunciation)/əbˈzɜːd/ (Received-Pronunciation)/əbˈsɚd/ (Canada, General-American)
  • adjective
  • noun
  • from Middle French

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.

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1 All current definitions

Every sense of “absurd” in current use, as recorded by Wiktionary. Older and obsolete senses are kept separately.

adjective

  1. 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.

    This proffer is absurd and reasonless.1591 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The First Part of Henry the Sixt”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623

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

    Adults have condemned them to live in what must seem like an absurd universe.1968 March 2, Joseph Featherstone, “A New Kind of Schooling”, in The New Republic:

  3. Dealing with absurdism.
Older & obsolete senses (1)
  1. obsoleteInharmonious; dissonant.
Wiktionary: “absurd” (via kaikki.org) — CC BY-SA 4.0

noun

  1. The opposition between the human search for meaning in life and the inability to find any; the state or condition in which man exists in an irrational universe and his life has no meaning outside of his existence.
Older & obsolete senses (1)
  1. obsoleteAn absurdity.
Wiktionary: “absurd” (via kaikki.org) — CC BY-SA 4.0
Cross-check: WordNet senses (3)
  1. nouna situation in which life seems irrational and meaningless; --Albert Camus — also: the absurd
  2. adjectiveinconsistent with reason or logic or common sense; - Walter Lippman
  3. adjectiveincongruous;inviting ridicule — also: cockeyed, derisory, idiotic, laughable, ludicrous
Princeton WordNet 3.0 — WordNet License

Synonyms: absurd, Laputan, cockamamie, cockeyed, farcical, foolish, full of it, irrational, inconsistent, incongruous, jabberwocky, laughable

Wiktionary: “absurd” (via kaikki.org) — CC BY-SA 4.0

2 History of the word

The etymology, the path the word travelled, and the words built from it.

The word’s journey, newest to oldest:

  1. English (today)absurd
  2. Middle Frenchabsurde
  3. Latinabsurdus “incongruous, dissonant, out of tune”

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.

Wiktionary: “absurd” (via kaikki.org) — CC BY-SA 4.0

Derivatives — words built from “absurd”

absurdificationabsurdifyAbsurdistanabsurdityabsurdlyabsurdnessnonabsurdunabsurd

Phrases & compounds

reduction to the absurdTheatre of the Absurd

Related terms

nonsensefakeinsane
Wiktionary: “absurd” (via kaikki.org) — CC BY-SA 4.0

Want to go deeper? See also “absurd” on Etymonline ↗

3 Original language

Where “absurd” came from before it was English.

Came into English from
Middle French
Middle French absurde
Oldest written form
Latin
Latin absurdus “incongruous, dissonant, out of tune”
Wiktionary: “absurd” (via kaikki.org) — CC BY-SA 4.0

4 Original meaning

What the word meant at the oldest point the record reaches.

Latin
“incongruous, dissonant, out of tune”
Latin absurdus
Wiktionary: “absurd” (via kaikki.org) — CC BY-SA 4.0

Historical meaning — Webster’s 1913

A historical record, labelled as such: some of these senses are dated or have since shifted.

absurd a. [L. absurdus harsh-sounding; ab + (prob) a derivative fr. a root svar to sound; not connected with surd: cf. F. absurde. See Syringe.]

  1. Contrary to reason or propriety; obviously and flatly opposed to manifest truth; inconsistent with the plain dictates of common sense; logically contradictory; nonsensical; ridiculous; as, an absurd person, an absurd opinion; an absurd dream.

absurd n.

  1. An absurdity.
Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913), public domain, via GCIDE

5 Use it with confidence

Model sentences from the sources, matched to the meaning they show. Read each one aloud, then make your own in the game.

adjectiveMeaning: 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.

This proffer is absurd and reasonless.1591 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The First Part of Henry the Sixt”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623

'Tis phrase absurd to call a villain great1734, [Alexander Pope], An Essay on Man. […], epistle IV, London: […] J[ohn] Wilford, […], →OCLC:

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

Adults have condemned them to live in what must seem like an absurd universe.1968 March 2, Joseph Featherstone, “A New Kind of Schooling”, in The New Republic:

nounMeaning: a situation in which life seems irrational and meaningless; --Albert Camus

The absurd is the essential concept and the first truth

adjectiveMeaning: inconsistent with reason or logic or common sense; - Walter Lippman

the absurd predicament of seeming to argue that virtue is highly desirable but intensely unpleasant

adjectiveMeaning: incongruous;inviting ridicule

the absurd excuse that the dog ate his homework

Princeton WordNet 3.0 — WordNet License
Wiktionary: “absurd” (via kaikki.org) — CC BY-SA 4.0

Three steps to owning it

  1. Pick one meaning above and read its model sentence out loud.
  2. Say who or what the word is about in your own life, then build a sentence around that.
  3. Check it against the definition: would a careful reader understand exactly that meaning?

6 The mastery game

Play it here, or print it and do it with pen and paper. At the end you will know the meanings, history, origin and original meaning — and you will have used the word yourself.

Step 1 of 7

Say it, then spell it

absurd

/əbˈsɜːd/

Say the word out loud three times, slowly. Notice the stressed syllable. When you are ready, hide it and spell it from memory.

Activate Words · Word-mastery worksheet · Name: ______________________ Date: __________

absurd

/əbˈsɜːd/ · adjective, noun

Step 1 — Say it and write it

Say “absurd” out loud three times. Then cover the word and write it three times from memory.

Step 2 — Know every meaning

Read each definition. Then write it again in your own words.

1. (adjective) 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.
2. (adjective) Having no rational or orderly relationship to people's lives; meaningless; lacking order or value.
3. (adjective) Dealing with absurdism.
4. (noun) The opposition between the human search for meaning in life and the inability to find any; the state or condition in which man exists in an irrational universe and his life has no meaning outside of his existence.

Step 3 — History and origin

Which language did “absurd” come into English from?   A. Old French  B. Middle Dutch  C. Anglo-Norman  D. Middle French

Write the word’s journey back in time (each language and form):

Write three words built from “absurd” and what each means:

Step 4 — Original meaning

The earliest traceable form is Latin absurdus. What did it mean?

How does that original meaning connect to the meanings today?

Step 5 — Use it yourself

Write a sentence using “absurd” to mean: 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.
Write a sentence using “absurd” to mean: Having no rational or orderly relationship to people's lives; meaningless; lacking order or value.
Write a sentence using “absurd” to mean: Dealing with absurdism.

☐ I can explain its meanings   ☐ I know its history   ☐ I know its original language   ☐ I know its original meaning   ☐ I can use it confidently

Answer key — absurd

Origin: D. Middle French (Middle French absurde)

Journey: English absurd ← Middle French absurde ← Latin absurdus

Some derivatives: absurdification, absurdify, Absurdistan, absurdity, absurdly, absurdness, nonabsurd, unabsurd

Original meaning: Latin absurdus — “incongruous, dissonant, out of tune”

Etymology: 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.

Sources: Wiktionary “absurd” (https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/absurd#English), CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org; Princeton WordNet 3.0; Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913, public domain) via GCIDE. Worksheet from https://activatewords.com/w/absurd