preposterous
Americanadjective
adjective
Synonym Usage
See absurd.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of preposterous
First recorded in 1535–45; from Latin praeposterus “inverted, reversed, perverted, perverse,” literally, “with the rear part first”; see also pre-, posterior, -ous
Explanation
To a vegetarian, the idea of eating a 52-ounce T-bone steak would seem preposterous — absolutely absurd. When the word preposterous was first used, it meant reversing the normal order of things — putting what was last first, and vice versa. Imagine putting on your underwear over your pants and you'll see that there's a kind of absurdity in something that's backwards, which is why preposterous came to mean "ridiculous." The word is often used as part of an exclamation: a chef who is asked to cook with nothing but jelly beans might exclaim, "That's preposterous!"
Vocabulary lists containing preposterous
Holes
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"The Hunger Games" Vocabulary from Chapter 1
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And Then There Were None
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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.
This sounds preposterous today, but the Dodgers had not won more games since 1988, the Kirk Gibson year.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 19, 2026
Police spokesperson Michael Muchiri told AFP that claims the force works alongside goons are "preposterous", suggesting the above incidents involved rogue officers who were now under investigation.
From Barron's ● Jul. 13, 2026
And though the film was far from Spielberg’s first foray into science fiction, it detailed a future that seemed both too distant and too preposterous for some viewers to connect to.
From Salon ● Jun. 28, 2026
Accepting yourself as you are is a preposterous thought.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 24, 2026
“Well, it’s not like they can just let us die of thirst,” her mother adds, as if this notion were preposterous, but then waits for someone to chime in with validation.
From "Dry" by Neal Shusterman and Jarrod Shusterman
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.
