absurdly
/əbˈsɜːdli/uhb-SURD-lee
/əbˈsɝdli/uhb-SURD-lee
Meaningin an absurd way
Common meaning: in an absurd way (inferred)
- abaway, off
- surddeaf; mutedLewis & Short, Latin Dictionary (1879), p. 1817 · scan
- lyadverb ending: in a way
‘away, off’ + ‘deaf’ → absurdly
Journey through time
- Latinsurdus, -a, -um‘deaf’
- Englishabsurd‘wildly unreasonable’
- Englishformed in English from absurdabsurdly‘in an absurd way (inferred)’ · today
Sources & notes
Inferred source: no dictionary we use has an entry for this exact word. Its history is worked out from closely related, listed words in the same family, and we are trusting that link, so bear that in mind. Inferred meaning: in an absurd way. It can be inferred from any of: absurd.
Meaning: “Meaning” is the sense that emerges from the word’s roots; “Common meaning” is today’s everyday sense. Both written by us.
Pronunciation
- UK IPA: converted from the US form by rule (unchecked). Respelling: generated.
- No UK recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-GB voice.
- US IPA: CMUdict (BSD-2), converted to IPA by rule. Respelling: generated.
- No US recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-US voice.
Origin: Formed in English from absurd + -ly (inferred: this exact word is not listed in our dictionaries).
Roots
- surdus, -a, -um Latin “deaf; muted”
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