adjective
-
having a tendency to laugh
-
causing laughter; ridiculous
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of risible
1550–60; < Late Latin rīsibilis that can laugh, equivalent to Latin rīs ( us ) laughed (past participle of rīdēre to laugh) + -ibilis -ible
Explanation
Risible describes something that is laughable or amusing, like seeing dozens of clowns emerge from a very tiny car. Risible is a fun word to say (it rhymes with visible), but it's not used all that much, maybe because it's a little formal. If you started saying the word risible all the time, that itself might be a little bit risible. Fun — and less stuffy — synonyms include amusing, comic, comical, funny, laughable, and mirthful.
Vocabulary lists containing risible
Tricky Terms for April Fool's Day
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"Hapworth 16, 1924" by J.D. Salinger
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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.
She opposed Pete Hegseth’s risible nomination as Defense secretary and voted to undo Trump’s heedless tariffs on Canada.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 18, 2025
Until Friday, these videos seemed merely risible, the work of an ersatz journalist so naïve that he appears startlingly unaware of the long history of gullible Westerners falling for such cherry-picked displays of Soviet majesty.
From Slate • Feb. 16, 2024
The story is absurd, the dialogue snort-out-loud risible, the fights uninspired.
From New York Times • Feb. 14, 2024
Such conditions would be risible by today's standards, but O'Connor persisted and was eventually able to muster a small salary.
From BBC • Dec. 1, 2023
When the School for Scandal was first performed, Mr. Cumberland sat in the front of the stage box with the most complete apathy; its wit and humor never affected his risible muscles.
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.
