ridicule
Americannoun
verb (used with object)
noun
verb
Synonym Usage
Ridicule, deride, mock, taunt imply making game of a person, usually in an unkind, jeering way. To ridicule is to make fun of, either sportively and good-humoredly, or unkindly with the intention of humiliating: to ridicule a pretentious person. To deride is to assail one with scornful laughter: to deride a statement of belief. To mock is sometimes playfully, sometimes insultingly, to imitate and caricature the appearance or actions of another: She mocked the seriousness of his expression. To taunt is to call attention to something annoying or humiliating, usually maliciously and exultingly and often in the presence of others: to taunt a candidate about his defeat in an election.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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ridiculesimple
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ridiculessimple
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have ridiculedperfect
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has ridiculedperfect
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am ridiculingprogressive
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are ridiculingprogressive
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is ridiculingprogressive
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have been ridiculingperfect progressive
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has been ridiculingperfect progressive
Past
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ridiculedsimple
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had ridiculedperfect
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was ridiculingprogressive
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were ridiculingprogressive
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had been ridiculingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of ridicule
First recorded in 1665–75; from Latin rīdiculum “a joke,” equivalent to rīdēre “to laugh” + -i- -i- + -culum -cule 2
Explanation
When you ridicule someone, you mock or make fun of them. They become the object of your ridicule or mockery. Your bad behavior might bring ridicule on your parents, who raised you to know better. The word ridicule is related to ridiculous. If you ridicule a friend, you try to make them look ridiculous. But now that isn't very friendly! Both words come from the Latin redire which means to laugh. When you are ridiculed, you are made a laughing stock, but being the object of ridicule is never funny.
Vocabulary lists containing ridicule
List 6
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English Words Derived from French, List 1
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Excerpt from "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer"
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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.
See Examples For:
She’s let her hair go gray but kept up her tan, and she’s careful not to ridicule the ways her body has changed with age.
From Salon ● Jul. 10, 2026
To be sure, aggressive redesigns often attract ridicule.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 27, 2026
Sam says the BBC took care to prepare him for the scrutiny and ridicule that can come with taking part.
From BBC ● May 14, 2026
And in its high and mighty position, it became an object of ridicule.
From Barron's ● May 2, 2026
You didn’t hold me up for ridicule, did you?
From "Thirteen Reasons Why" by Jay Asher
The premise is simple — Scorsese, perfectionist filmmaker, mercilessly ridicules the photos he took of his nephew’s birthday party — but it’s his deadpan performance that really sells the joke.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 6, 2025
When Harris doubts or ridicules his stature, his wealth, the size of his crowds, or whatever, he feels compelled to fight back and restore his eminent centrality at once.
From Slate ● Sep. 11, 2024
Libii’s story underlines the self-negation involved in the trope of the title and ridicules the expectations and constraints forced upon Black people in myriad ways.
From New York Times ● Mar. 15, 2024
This is a show that ridicules the genre's feverish dedication to pimping childhood trauma and other excuses for hyper-masculinity by doubling down on the deep friendship that keeps Harley and Ivy firmly rooted.
From Salon ● Feb. 9, 2023
However, the medical community ridicules him for the effort, and he’s never able to repeat his success.
From "A Heart in a Body in the World" by Deb Caletti
Dundon’s move was widely criticized — and ridiculed — after the Hurricanes on Thursday posted a picture of the engravings on social media.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 10, 2026
Such attitudes have been ridiculed in the U.S. press, and prickly French politicians are now upset we noticed.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 30, 2026
Cusack said his daughter, who was prescribed medication, felt that if she used her mental health as an "excuse" she "would be out" of the team, and feared being stigmatised and ridiculed.
From BBC ● Jun. 29, 2026
As to those analogues: Jackson ridiculed Alito’s refusal to acknowledge that they show how “states routinely required affirmative consent for armed carry onto private property” at the founding.
From Slate ● Jun. 25, 2026
When word got out, the Howard team would be widely ridiculed.
From "Seabiscuit: An American Legend" by Laura Hillenbrand
Calling on allies to “step up” after ridiculing them was “ham-handed,” Radd said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 17, 2026
At a demonstration outside the Parliament building in the Bulgarian capital, a giant screen looped videos and memes ridiculing politicians.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 11, 2025
Raising his phone to capture the confrontation on video, the senator began ridiculing her.
From New York Times ● May 26, 2024
Both Daniels and Trump, who is the actual defendant, come out of these exchanges sounding like schoolchildren ridiculing each other.
From Slate ● May 10, 2024
I did not hear the whispers of “backyard snob” or the ridiculing laughter.
From "Purple Hibiscus" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
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.
