absurdisms
Statements defying reason
Absurdisms are instances of absurdist thought, expression, or behavior—things marked by irrationality, meaninglessness, or deliberate departure from logic.
The term often refers to examples of the artistic and philosophical movement that embraces life's fundamental absurdity: The play was full of Kafkaesque absurdisms.
More loosely, absurdisms are simply ridiculous or nonsensical elements: The meeting devolved into bureaucratic absurdisms.
Mockery exposing vice
- parodySatirical imitation
- farceAbsurd, laughable situation
- slapstickExaggerated physical humor
- witClever, inventive humor
irony · caricature · buffoonery · mockery · drollery · deadpan · surrealism · Monty Python
Rejection of objective meaning
- meaninglessnessLack of significance
- voidWithout legal effect
- ennuiWeary, listless dissatisfaction
- alienationState of being isolated
futility · despair · existentialism · Sartre · Camus · Kierkegaard · Beckett · Ionesco
Without coherent meaning
- preposterousCompletely contrary to reason
- ludicrousAbsurdly unreasonable or inappropriate
- incoherentLacking logical connection
- senselessLacking reason or awareness
incongruous · irrational · unreasonable · bizarre · outlandish · fantastical · ridiculous · implausible
Opposing claims, incompatible together
- conundrumPerplexing problem or question
- oxymoronSelf-contradicting phrase device
- antinomyContradiction between valid conclusions
- enigmaSomething hard to fathom
catch-22 · dilemma · inconsistency · irony · juxtaposition · counterintuitive · ambiguity · self-defeating
satire
Mockery exposing vice
wit · irony · caricature · buffoonery · mockery · drollery · deadpan · surrealism · Monty Python · nonsense verse
nihilism
Rejection of objective meaning
- meaninglessnessLack of significance
- voidWithout legal effect
- ennuiWeary, listless dissatisfaction
alienation · futility · despair · existentialism · Sartre · Camus · Kierkegaard · Beckett · Ionesco · angst
nonsensical
Without coherent meaning
- preposterousCompletely contrary to reason
- ludicrousAbsurdly unreasonable or inappropriate
- incoherentLacking logical connection
senseless · incongruous · irrational · unreasonable · bizarre · outlandish · fantastical · ridiculous · implausible · inane
contradiction
Opposing claims, incompatible together
- conundrumPerplexing problem or question
- oxymoronSelf-contradicting phrase device
- antinomyContradiction between valid conclusions
enigma · catch-22 · dilemma · inconsistency · irony · juxtaposition · counterintuitive · ambiguity · self-defeating · infinite regress
absurdismssyllogisms
Formal logical arguments
truisms · axioms · tautologies · logical proofs · self-evident truths
absurdismscosmic order
Universe's fundamental organizing principle
essentialism · existential meaning · profundities · teleology · purposefulness
absurdismsrealism
Accepting things as they are
naturalism · verisimilitude · classical forms · mimesis · traditionalisms
- absurdist humorComedy rooted in meaninglessness
- absurdist comedyComedy rooted in meaninglessness
- absurdist playTheater of purposeful incoherence
- absurdist jokesComedy embracing meaningless chaos
- absurdist fictionGenre defying rational interpretation
- absurdist theaterDrama depicting existence as meaningless