ribald
Americanadjective
noun
adjective
noun
Other Word Forms
- ribaldly adverb
Etymology
Origin of ribald
1200–50; Middle English ribald, ribaud (noun) < Old French ribau ( l ) d, equivalent to rib ( er ) to be licentious (< Old High German rīben to copulate, be in heat, literally, rub) + -au ( l ) d, -alt < Frankish *-wald a suffix in personal names, derivative of *walden to rule; compare parallel development of -ard
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.
Disorderly in its construction, “Tristram Shandy” is ribald and risqué in its content, yet charitable and affecting in tone.
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 9, 2026
But in an editorial in Tuesday's memorial edition, the paper's main shareholder said its spirit of ribald anti-religious irreverence was still very much alive.
From BBC • Jan. 6, 2025
It’s also doubtful that the ribald humor of H.L.
From Salon • Feb. 22, 2024
On Santa Monica Boulevard in West Hollywood this week, people were reveling in Pride month, with all its rainbow flags and ribald humor.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 9, 2023
On the surface, it was a ribald little tune about a donkey who wanted to be an arcanist.
From "The Name of the Wind" by Patrick Rothfuss
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.
