ridiculous
Americanadjective
adjective
Related Words
See absurd.
Other Word Forms
- hyperridiculous adjective
- hyperridiculously adverb
- quasi-ridiculous adjective
- quasi-ridiculously adverb
- ridiculosity noun
- ridiculously adverb
- ridiculousness noun
- unridiculous adjective
- unridiculously adverb
Etymology
Origin of ridiculous
First recorded in 1540–50; from Late Latin rīdiculōsus “laughable, droll,” equivalent to Latin rīdicul(us), adjective derivative of rīdiculum ridicule ( def. ) + -ōsus -ous ( def. )
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Across the eight-episode series, things move from the ridiculous to the sublime.
From Los Angeles Times
Though many found the idea of knocking spirits ridiculous, the rapping sounds were mysterious—bouncing off the theater’s walls, floorboards, and ceiling.
From Literature
“O Lord, make my enemies ridiculous,” Voltaire, the 18th-century French enlightenment philosopher, himself known for his bons mots, once wrote, adding: “God granted my prayer.”
I knew all too well that once Daisy had gotten into one of her Red Cross nursing spells, it was ridiculous to even think of trying to argue her out of it.
From Literature
I could see things through Opal’s eyes now, how ridiculous this seemed.
From Literature
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
