laughable
Americanadjective
adjective
-
producing scorn; ludicrous
he offered me a laughable sum for the picture
-
arousing laughter
Synonym Usage
See funny 1.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of laughable
Explanation
If something is so absurd or ridiculous that it makes you laugh, you can call it laughable. Your little sister's idea of dropping out of elementary school and starting a full-time lemonade stand might seem laughable to you. Your friend's preposterous plan to live in a tree all summer is laughable, and a politician's proposal to build a wall around the entire country to keep immigrants out is laughable too. You can also use this adjective to simply mean "funny," or "provoking laughter." Laughable comes from laugh, which has an Old English root and was originally pronounced with a hard g sound. The pronunciation changed, but the spelling stayed the same.
Vocabulary lists containing laughable
Talk Like Shakespeare Day, List 5
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-able
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The Egypt Game
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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.
Prosecutor Jennifer Sprague dismissed the claim of insufficient evidence as a "laughable argument."
From Barron's ● Sep. 29, 2026
New arrivals to paradise seeking halos and wings are viewed by heaven’s longtimers as laughable naifs.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 11, 2026
"You've seen a much more aggressive Farage in the last three or four months. He's gone from the affable to the laughable," says Crick.
From BBC ● Sep. 4, 2026
In contrast, Hal Jordan’s Green Lantern was immortalized on the big screen in 2011 by way of a laughable debacle that’s considered one of the worst career decisions Ryan Reynolds ever made.
From Salon ● Aug. 14, 2026
What was laughable was that poor Bunny should display concern about anyone else’s intellectual capacities.
From "The Secret History" by Donna Tartt
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.
