Skip to the word

Added 9 October 2026

absurd

/əbˈsɜːd/ adjective

In Latin: absurdus First recorded: 1557 Wiktionary

adjective Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about absurd at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

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. .mw-parser-output .defdate{font-size:smaller}
Inharmonious; dissonant.
Having no rational or orderly relationship to people's lives; meaningless; lacking order or value.

noun

An absurdity.
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.

Origin

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.

From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)

Back to today's word