absurdist
Meaninglessness as philosophy
Absurdist describes art, philosophy, or humor that emphasizes the meaninglessness or irrationality of existence.
The term connects to absurdism, the philosophical view that human attempts to find meaning in the universe will ultimately fail.
An absurdist play or novel presents characters in illogical situations without resolution.
Waiting for Godot is the classic absurdist drama.
The word also applies more loosely to comedy built on bizarre non sequiturs rather than logical setups: absurdist memes, absurdist humor.
French absurdist author-philosopher
- SisyphusCondemned eternal boulder roller
- KierkegaardDanish existentialist theologian
- SartreFrench existentialist philosopher
- existentialismPhilosophy stressing self-created meaning
nihilism · meaninglessness · futility · revolt · suicide · alienation · contingency · freedom
- IonescoAbsurdist dramatist from Romania
- PinterEnglish theatrical author
- Waiting for GodotAbsurdist drama about fruitless expectation
- RhinocerosLarge horned ungulate
Stoppard · avant-garde · experimental · playwright · disjointed · dialogue · monologue · stagecraft
Contrary to valid reasoning
- nonsensicalWithout coherent meaning
- incongruousNot fitting together harmoniously
- irrationalLacking sound judgment
- paradoxSeemingly absurd truth
deadpan · non-sequitur · wordplay · punchline · randomness · subversion · timing · escalation
Satirical imitation
- ironyMeaning opposite to words
- mockeryScornful ridicule or travesty
- caricatureExaggerated comic depiction
- lampoonHarsh public mockery
critique · subversion · exaggeration · hyperbole · Catch-22 · social commentary · political · institutional
Hazy and fantastical
- kafkaesqueNightmarishly illogical and bureaucratic
- hallucinatorySeeming falsely perceived
- phantasmagoricBizarrely dreamlike and shifting
- grotesqueDistorted, bizarre figure
metamorphosis · nightmarish · disorienting · uncanny · labyrinthine · bizarre · distorted · illogical
Camus
French absurdist author-philosopher
- SisyphusCondemned eternal boulder roller
- KierkegaardDanish existentialist theologian
- SartreFrench existentialist philosopher
existentialism · nihilism · meaninglessness · futility · revolt · suicide · alienation · contingency · freedom · authenticity
Beckett
- IonescoAbsurdist dramatist from Romania
- PinterEnglish theatrical author
- Waiting for GodotAbsurdist drama about fruitless expectation
Stoppard · Rhinoceros · avant-garde · experimental · playwright · disjointed · dialogue · monologue · stagecraft · performance
illogical
Contrary to valid reasoning
- nonsensicalWithout coherent meaning
- incongruousNot fitting together harmoniously
- irrationalLacking sound judgment
paradox · deadpan · non-sequitur · wordplay · punchline · randomness · subversion · timing · escalation · bathos
parody
Satirical imitation
- ironyMeaning opposite to words
- mockeryScornful ridicule or travesty
- caricatureExaggerated comic depiction
lampoon · critique · subversion · exaggeration · hyperbole · Catch-22 · social commentary · political · institutional · bureaucracy
dreamlike
Hazy and fantastical
- kafkaesqueNightmarishly illogical and bureaucratic
- hallucinatorySeeming falsely perceived
- phantasmagoricBizarrely dreamlike and shifting
grotesque · metamorphosis · nightmarish · disorienting · uncanny · labyrinthine · bizarre · distorted · illogical · Dalí
- funnyfunny, comical, hilarious, humorous, amusing
- genresaction, comedy, detective fiction, fantasy, horror
- humorjoke, jokes, joking, comedy, comic
- theatreBroadway, acting, theatre, stage, actor
- thinkersthinkers, thinker, philosophers, philosopher, Aristotle
- World Theaterkabuki, Beijing opera, Peking opera, bunraku, Greek tragedy
absurdistrationalist
One guided by reason
existentialist · theist · essentialist · optimist · determinist
absurdistrealist
One accepting hard truths
naturalist · conventional · traditionalist · earnest · mimetic
absurdistrationalist
One guided by reason
logician · empiricist · positivist · Cartesian · systematizer
- 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