preposterous

[pri-pos-ter-uhs, -truhs]

adjective

1. completely contrary to nature, reason, or common sense; utterly foolish; absurd; senseless.

   a preposterous tale.

   Synonyms: ridiculous, excessive, unreasonable

preposterous

/ prɪˈpɒstərəs /

adjective

1. contrary to nature, reason, or sense; absurd; ridiculous

Other Word Forms

• preposterously adverb
• preposterousness noun
• unpreposterous adjective
• unpreposterously adverb
• unpreposterousness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of preposterous¹

First recorded in 1535–45; from Latin praeposterus “inverted, reversed, perverted, perverse,” literally, “with the rear part first”; pre-, posterior, -ous

Word History and Origins

Origin of preposterous¹

C16: from Latin praeposterus reversed, from prae in front, before + posterus following

Synonym Study

See absurd.

Example Sentences

Still, some residents decried the ballooning fees, with one calling the increase “preposterous.”

Read more on Los Angeles Times

It that sounds preposterous and doomed to fail, well, sure.

Read more on Salon

"We love it. We absolutely love it! It's so preposterous."

Read more on BBC

Associated Newspapers has denied claims that it hacked phones, calling them "preposterous smears".

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They said the demonstration showed the Palestine Action ban was "impossible to enforce and a preposterous waste of resources".

Read more on BBC

Related Words

• absurd 
• crazy 
• excessive 
• fantastic 
• foolish 
• impossible 
• incredible 
• insane 
• irrational 
• laughable 
• ludicrous 
• nonsensical 
• outrageous 
• senseless 
• shocking 
• silly 
• stupid 
• unbelievable 
• unreasonable 
• unthinkable