absurdly

USAGE SUMMARY

The phrase "absurdly" is correct and usable in written English.
It can be used to describe something that is extremely unreasonable, illogical, or ridiculous. Example: "The prices at that restaurant are absurdly high for the quality of food they serve."

✓ Grammatically correct

News & Media

Formal & Business

Human-verified examples from authoritative sources

Exact Expressions

60 human-written examples

The charge sheet against Serbia is getting absurdly long.

The Guardian - Sport

Well, yes, everybody knows pay in big banking is absurdly high – even the Barclays board says it is sympathetic on that score.

The Guardian - Business

Imagine how much better this perky dance number would have sold if its absurdly spelt title hadn't made it almost impossible to search for on iTunes.

The Guardian - Music

The infant monster is smooth, eyeless and bulbous, both strongly foetal and absurdly phallic, with a row of silver milk-teeth and a lashing, segmented tail.

The Guardian - Film

Even more absurdly, central government's budgetary allocation is only about half of the Ministry of Rural Development's own estimates of the "approved person days as per the labour budget".

The Guardian

Almost as bad, he says, half of the album has been streamed or otherwise previewed online already, an effort by the label to stir interest that, absurdly, left the same label feeling cheated, as if there was no longer enough fresh material on the product Blake submitted.

The Guardian - Music

It's far too camp and stagey for cinema, really, as are the luridly coloured costumes and absurdly clean and tidy "medieval" sets.

The Guardian - Film

Dubost and Carette play a deliciously sly and comic cat-and-mouse game with the absurdly rigid Modot, especially during the after-dinner entertainment, a breathtaking sequence described by the critic Richard Roud as something from "a Marx brothers film scripted by a Feydeau who suddenly acquired a tragic sense".

The Guardian - Film

Don't expect to pick up a beautiful villa, in a desirable location, for peanuts – the big falls were in the off-centre developments that were arguably absurdly over-priced in the first place.

The Guardian - Money

On the tone of the undelivered version, Lord Kinnock said: "In the end, she might not have used that passage, because people around her would have told her how absurdly counterproductive it would be.

The Guardian

By secondary school he was writing some "absurdly pretentious stuff", but as soon as he won a place at Exeter College, Oxford, to read English in 1968 his poetry "went into hiding".

The Guardian

Expert writing Tips

Best practice

Use "absurdly" to emphasize the extreme unreasonableness or illogicality of a situation or statement. This adds a layer of critical evaluation to your writing, highlighting the departure from common sense.

Common error

While "absurdly" is acceptable in many contexts, avoid overuse in very formal or academic writing where a more neutral or precise term might be preferred, such as "unjustifiably" or "excessively."

Linguistic Context

The adverb "absurdly" primarily functions as an intensifier, modifying adjectives or adverbs to emphasize an extreme degree of unreasonableness or illogicality. As Ludwig AI confirms, it's correctly and widely used in English. For example, "absurdly long" or "absurdly high".

Expression frequency: Very common

Frequent in

News & Media

60%

Formal & Business

20%

Science

10%

Less common in

Encyclopedias

0%

Wiki

0%

Reference

0%

Ludwig's WRAP-UP

In summary, "absurdly" is a versatile adverb that serves to intensify the degree of unreasonableness, illogicality, or extremity. According to Ludwig AI, it is grammatically correct and usable in written English. It's most commonly found in news and media, as well as formal and business contexts. When writing, use "absurdly" to add emphasis to situations that defy logic, but be mindful of overusing it in extremely formal writing. Related phrases like "ridiculously" or "preposterously" can provide alternative nuances. This guide offers practical advice on how to effectively use "absurdly" and avoid common pitfalls.

More alternative expressions

Phrases that express similar concepts, ordered by semantic similarity:

ridiculously

Emphasizes the laughable or nonsensical aspect of something, shifting the focus to its preposterous nature.

preposterously

Highlights the outrageous and utterly unreasonable quality, increasing the level of incredulity.

ludicrously

Similar to "ridiculously" but often implies a more foolish or derisory aspect.

outrageously

Focuses on the shocking or offensive level of something, adding a moral or ethical dimension.

fantastically

Can suggest incredibility due to scale or imagination, moving away from pure unreasonableness.

exceedingly

Indicates a high degree of something, but it is more general and less focused on irrationality.

unbelievably

Stresses the difficulty in accepting something as true, which may or may not be absurd.

foolishly

Highlights the lack of wisdom or good judgment, rather than inherent absurdity.

irrationally

Directly points to the lack of logical reasoning, offering a more clinical tone.

nonsensically

Highlights the lack of meaning or coherence, emphasizing the absurdity of it.

FAQs

How can I use "absurdly" in a sentence?

You can use "absurdly" to describe something that is extremely unreasonable or illogical. For example, "The prices at that store are "absurdly high"."

What can I say instead of "absurdly"?

You can use alternatives like "ridiculously", "preposterously", or "ludicrously" depending on the context.

Which is correct, "absurdly high" or "ridiculously high"?

Both ""absurdly high"" and "ridiculously high" are correct. The choice depends on the specific nuance you want to convey. "Absurdly" emphasizes the lack of reason, while "ridiculously" emphasizes the laughable nature of something.

What's the difference between "absurdly" and "ironically"?

"Absurdly" describes something that is illogical or unreasonable, while "ironically" describes a situation that is the opposite of what one would expect. They are not interchangeable.