Search the Dictionary

Deafness. [Obs.]

ity of being absurd or inconsistent with obvious truth, reason, or sound judgment. "The absurdity of the actual idea of an infinite number." Locke.

An absurdity. [Obs.] Pope.

Absurdity. [R.]

Unreasonableness; absurdity. [Obs.]

An indirect argument which proves a thing by showing the impossibility or absurdity of the contrary.

Proving indirectly, by showing the absurdity, or impossibility of the contrary. Bp. Berkeley.

lete; to crown; to bring to the highest point or consummation; as, to cap the climax of absurdity.

rthly good. I. Taylor. To cap the climax, to surpass everything, as in excellence or in absurdity. [Colloq.]

Anything that destroys beauty, grace, or propriety; irregularity; absurdity; gross deviation from other or the established laws of propriety; as, deformity in an edifice; deformity of character. Confounded, that her Maker's eyes Should look so near upon her foul deformities. Milton.

Incomprehensible. The fathomless absurdity. Milton.

The practice of folly; the behavior of a fool; absurdity. Folly in fools bears not so strong a note, As foolery in the wise, when wit doth dote. Shak.

A foolish practice; an absurdity. The preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness. 1 Cor. i. 18.

R.] Latimer. Logical impossibility, a condition or statement involving contradiction or absurdity; as, that a thing can be and not be at the same time. See Principle of Contradiction, under Contradiction.

Absurdity in argument ore narration; incoherence or irreconcilability in the parts of a statement, argument, or narration; that which is inconsistent. If a man would register all his opinions upon love, politics, religion, and learning, what a bundle of inconsistencies and contradictions would appear at last! Swift.…

demonstration in which proof is given by showing that any other supposition involves an absurdity (reductio ad absurdum), or an impossibility; thus, one quantity may be proved equal to another by showing that it can be neither greater nor less. -- Indirect discourse. (Gram.) See Direct discourse, under Direct. -- Ind…

Absurdity; nonsense; foolishness.

ense; words, or language, which have no meaning, or which convey no intelligible ideas; absurdity.

tinct; obvious; readily perceived and detected; gross; as, palpable imposture; palpable absurdity; palpable errors. "Three persons palpable." P. Plowman. [Lies] gross as a mountain, open, palpable. Shak. -- Pal"pa*ble*ness, n. -- Pal"pa*bly, adv.

Any inconsistency, unfitness, absurdity, or impropriety, as in deeds or manners. Cæsar, by dismissing his guards and retaining his power, committed a dangerous solecism in politics. C. Middleton. The idea of having committed the slightest solecism in politeness was agony to him. Sir W. Scott.