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definitions

ridicule

[rid-i-kyool]
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noun
  1. speech or action intended to cause contemptuous laughter at a person or thing; derision.
verb (used with object), rid·i·culed, rid·i·cul·ing.
  1. to deride; make fun of.

Origin of ridicule

1665–75; < Latin rīdiculum a joke, equivalent to rīd(ēre) to laugh + -i- -i- + -culum -cule2
Related formsrid·i·cul·er, nounself-rid·i·cule, nounun·rid·i·culed, adjective

Synonyms for ridicule

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1. mockery, raillery, sarcasm, satire, irony. 2. banter, chaff, rally, twit, burlesque, satirize, lampoon. Ridicule, deride, mock, taunt imply making game of a person, usually in an unkind, jeering way. To ridicule is to make fun of, either sportively and good-humoredly, or unkindly with the intention of humiliating: to ridicule a pretentious person. To deride is to assail one with scornful laughter: to deride a statement of belief. To mock is sometimes playfully, sometimes insultingly, to imitate and caricature the appearance or actions of another: She mocked the seriousness of his expression. To taunt is to call attention to something annoying or humiliating, usually maliciously and exultingly and often in the presence of others: to taunt a candidate about his defeat in an election.

Antonyms for ridicule

praise.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for ridicule

caricature, mockery, sarcasm, jeer, disdain, satire, derision, taunt, scorn, laughter, contempt, parody, taunting, scoff, lampoon, deride, mock, humiliate, disparagement, slam

Examples from the Web for ridicule

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Historical Examples of ridicule

British Dictionary definitions for ridicule

ridicule

noun
  1. language or behaviour intended to humiliate or mock; derision
verb
  1. (tr) to make fun of, mock, or deride
Derived Formsridiculer, noun

Word Origin for ridicule

C17: from French, from Latin rīdiculus, from rīdēre to laugh
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for ridicule
v.

1680s, "make ridiculous," from ridicule (n.) or else from French ridiculer, from ridicule. Meaning "make fun of" is from c.1700. Related: Ridiculed; ridiculing.

n.

1670s, "absurd thing;" 1680s, "words or actions meant to invoke ridicule," from French ridicule, noun use of adjective (15c.), or from Latin ridiculum "laughing matter, joke," from noun use of neuter of ridiculus (see ridiculous).

"He who brings ridicule to bear against truth, finds in his hand a blade without a hilt." [Walter Savage Landor, "Imaginary Conversations"]
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper