Absurd : Dictionary / Wörterbuch (BEOLINGUS, TU Chemnitz)

English Dictionary: Absurd	by the DICT Development Group
3 results for Absurd
From WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006) [wn]:
absurd adj inconsistent with reason or logic or common sense; "the absurd predicament of seeming to argue that virtue is highly desirable but intensely unpleasant"- Walter Lippman incongruous;inviting ridicule; "the absurd excuse that the dog ate his homework"; "that's a cockeyed idea"; "ask a nonsensical question and get a nonsensical answer"; "a contribution so small as to be laughable"; "it is ludicrous to call a cottage a mansion"; "a preposterous attempt to turn back the pages of history"; "her conceited assumption of universal interest in her rather dull children was ridiculous" Synonym(s): absurd, cockeyed, derisory, idiotic, laughable, ludicrous, nonsensical, preposterous, ridiculous n a situation in which life seems irrational and meaningless; "The absurd is the essential concept and the first truth"-- Albert Camus Synonym(s): absurd, the absurd
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]:
Absurd \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}.] Contrary to reason or propriety; obviously and fiatly 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. This proffer is absurd and reasonless. --Shak. 'This phrase absurd to call a villain great. --Pope. --p. 9 Syn: Foolish; irrational; ridiculous; preposterous; inconsistent; incongruous. Usage: {Absurd}, {Irrational}, {Foolish}, {Preposterous}. Of these terms, irrational is the weakest, denoting that which is plainly inconsistent with the dictates of sound reason; as, an irrational course of life. Foolish rises higher, and implies either a perversion of that faculty, or an absolute weakness or fatuity of mind; as, foolish enterprises. Absurd rises still higher, denoting that which is plainly opposed to received notions of propriety and truth; as, an absurd man, project, opinion, story, argument, etc. Preposterous rises still higher, and supposes an absolute inversion in the order of things; or, in plain terms, a [bd]putting of the cart before the horse;[b8] as, a preposterous suggestion, preposterous conduct, a preposterous regulation or law.
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]:
Absurd \Absurd"\ ([acr]bs[ucir]rd"), n. An absurdity. [Obs.] --Pope.