<p>This work concerns the design of novel configurations of locally resonant metamaterial (LRM) with geometrical imperfections and provides insight through analytical and numerical simulations using peridynamics (PD) with a view to enhancing their energy absorption capacity and bandgap. As elastomeric materials can undergo large nonlinear elastic deformation, we consider elastomeric matrix with inclusions, holes, cracks, and their combinations and investigate how the wave propagates through these materials. The behavior of a single unit discrete LRM is studied first, and a condition is determined for which the response of the outer mass is a minimum. After analyzing the concepts of vibration absorber and negative mass, we furnished a pseudo-force approach and suggested a method for parameter estimation. Using our approach, we demonstrate how to calculate the response of a periodic continuous LRM using representative mass and stiffness of a discrete single unit LRM. The finite deformation PD model is validated against finite element solutions for a solid body and two types of interface systems considering a slightly compressible neo-Hookean material model under plane strain assumption. The Newmark-beta method is used for dynamic analysis. Various novel geometries are developed, and wave propagation is studied in composites with various inclusion shapes, pendulum-type structures, inclusions and holes, and inclusions and cracks. The efficiency of elastomeric metamaterial configurations with a combination of holes, cracks, and inclusions for wave amplitude reduction and bandgap is demonstrated that shows the potential of our approach.</p>