Make Your Point: KAFKAESQUE

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pronounce KAFKAESQUE:

KOFF kuh ESK

connect this word to others:

Something Kafkaesque reminds you of a story by Franz Kafka. And that's never a good thing, because those stories are horrifying.

Let's add Kafkaesque to our collection of words for things that remind us of stories by certain authors: so far, we've got Dahlesque (strange and imaginative), Orwellian (full of oppression and disrespect for the truth), Poeish (morbid or gothic), and Seussian (wise and whimsical).

Could you invent and define one more of these words, based on one of your favorite authors? (If not an author, how about a musician, a director, or a photographer?)

definition:

We've used the word "Kafkaesque" in English since about 1936 to describe things that remind us of stories by Franz Kafka (1883-1924).

In those stories, the main characters face weird and terrifying situations. The terror sometimes involves unnatural things, like the main character in the novella The Metamorphosis immediately turning into a giant cockroach; and sometimes it involves bureaucratic things, like the main character in The Trial being arrested, imprisoned, and murdered by government officials for no specific reason.

So, when a situation is bizarre, terrifying, dreamlike, and/or brutally oppressive, you can call it Kafkaesque.

grammatical bits:

Part of speech:

Adjective, as in "It was a Kafkaesque nightmare."

Many writers treat this word as a proper adjective and capitalize it, and that's what I'll suggest you do, also. But you are welcome to go rogue and use a lowercase; many other writers do.

Other forms:

The adverb is "Kafkaesquely." Here it is in a novel by Elaine Dundy: "Postcards and wires to the Paris Embassy were all Kafkaesquely re-routed to that powerful Man in Charge."

how to use it:

When you need a rare, emphatic, literary term to describe something that's nightmarish, illogical, and bureaucratic, call it Kafkaesque.

You might talk about Kafkaesque situations, ordeals, experiences, nightmares, or policies.

examples:

"'I just had a kafkaesque 75 minutes in terminal 5 at heathrow,' a passenger tweeted earlier this month. I hate customs lines.'"
— Alice Speri, Wall Street Journal, 10 July 2012

"Certain videos were being barred from making money via YouTube's ad service. More troublingly, the videos were often flagged for reasons that seemed unfair, unclear, or outright censorious... YouTube's copyright infringement apparatus... has been criticized as imprecise, overzealous, and kafkaesque."
— Adi Robertson, The Verge, 1 September 2016

has this page helped you understand "Kafkaesque"?

Awesome, I'm glad it helped!

Thanks for letting me know!
If you have any questions about this term, please message me at Liesl@HiloTutor.com.

study it:

Explain the meaning of "Kafkaesque" without saying "surreal" or "horrifying."

try it out:

In an opinion piece for Inc.com, Jessica Stillman argued:

"One of the primary drivers of entrepreneurial dreams is a wish to escape the confining dictates of traditional corporate environments... Being an entrepreneur—despite the risks, hard work and uncertain monetary rewards—represents autonomy and a less kafkaesque work culture than what often predominates in the traditional corporate world."

In your opinion, is she right? Is the "traditional corporate world" a Kafkaesque one? If so, how? If not, what would have to happen on the regular in the corporate world for you to call it Kafkaesque?

before you review, play:

Try to spend 20 seconds or more on the game below. Don’t skip straight to the review—first, let your working memory empty out.

Our game this month is "Fill In For the Poet."

I'll give you a few lines from a poem, with a blank where a word that we've studied before appears, along with the word's definition. See if you can come up with it. If you can't, that's fine: fill in the blank to your satisfaction.

To check out some examples, head here.

Try this today:

From Countee Cullen's poem "Yet Do I Marvel:"

I doubt not God is good, well-meaning, kind,
And did He stoop to _____ could tell why
The little buried mole continues blind,
Why flesh that mirrors Him must some day die...

Definition: "make a petty complaint."

To see the word the poet chose, scroll all the way down.

review this word:

1. Near opposites of KAFKAESQUE include

A. CHEEKY and RIBALD.
B. SOOTHING and PEACEFUL.
C. CLUMSY and AMATEURISH.

2. In an experience that he described as Kafkaesque, Stephan Templ _____.

A. recovered from amnesia and was reunited with his long-lost twin
B. was jailed for eight months for making a minor error on an application form
C. was ridiculed on social media for posting a dorky review of the Olive Garden

a final word:

I hope you're enjoying Make Your Point. It's made with love.

I'm Liesl Johnson, a reading and writing tutor on a mission to explore, illuminate, and celebrate words.

From my blog:
On vocabulary...
  36 ways to study words.
  Why we forget words, & how to remember them.
  How to use sophisticated words without being awkward.
On writing...
How to improve any sentence.
How to motivate our kids to write.
How to stop procrastinating and start writing.
How to bulk up your writing when you have to meet a word count.

From my heart: a profound thanks to the generous patrons, donors, and sponsors that make it possible for me to write these emails. If you'd like to be a patron or a donor, please click here. If you'd like to be a sponsor and include your ad in an issue, please contact me at Liesl@HiloTutor.com.

A disclaimer: When I write definitions, I use plain language and stick to the words' common, useful applications. If you're interested in authoritative and multiple definitions of words, I encourage you to check a dictionary. Also, because I'm American, I stick to American English when I share words' meanings, usage, and pronunciations; these elements sometimes vary across world Englishes.

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