ridicule
Americannoun
verb (used with object)
-
ridicules,
present (3rd person singular)
-
ridiculed,
past participle, past
-
ridiculing
present participle
noun
verb
Synonym Usage
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.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
ridiculesimple
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ridiculessimple
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have ridiculedperfect
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has ridiculedperfect
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am ridiculingprogressive
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are ridiculingprogressive
-
is ridiculingprogressive
-
have been ridiculingperfect progressive
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has been ridiculingperfect progressive
Past
-
ridiculedsimple
-
had ridiculedperfect
-
was ridiculingprogressive
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were ridiculingprogressive
-
had been ridiculingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of ridicule
First recorded in 1665–75; from Latin rīdiculum “a joke,” equivalent to rīdēre “to laugh” + -i- -i- + -culum -cule 2
Explanation
When you ridicule someone, you mock or make fun of them. They become the object of your ridicule or mockery. Your bad behavior might bring ridicule on your parents, who raised you to know better. The word ridicule is related to ridiculous. If you ridicule a friend, you try to make them look ridiculous. But now that isn't very friendly! Both words come from the Latin redire which means to laugh. When you are ridiculed, you are made a laughing stock, but being the object of ridicule is never funny.
Vocabulary lists containing ridicule
List 6
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English Words Derived from French, List 1
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Excerpt from "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer"
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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.
See Examples For:
"He was being subjected to relentless scrutiny, including ridicule, discrediting absolutely every detail of his life," Baron-Cohen said.
From Barron's ● Aug. 15, 2026
She’s let her hair go gray but kept up her tan, and she’s careful not to ridicule the ways her body has changed with age.
From Salon ● Jul. 10, 2026
To be sure, aggressive redesigns often attract ridicule.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 27, 2026
Sam says the BBC took care to prepare him for the scrutiny and ridicule that can come with taking part.
From BBC ● May 14, 2026
I couldn’t endure the mockery, or the disgrace, or the patriotic ridicule.
From "The Things They Carried" by Tim O'Brien
When Charlie Brown joyfully returns to his friends with the spindly little tree, the gang ridicules his choice.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 13, 2024
When Harris doubts or ridicules his stature, his wealth, the size of his crowds, or whatever, he feels compelled to fight back and restore his eminent centrality at once.
From Slate ● Sep. 11, 2024
A majority of consumers of Asian and Pacific Islander descent are not willing to shrug off media and advertising that ridicules or mishandles their culture.
From Seattle Times ● May 1, 2024
This is a show that ridicules the genre's feverish dedication to pimping childhood trauma and other excuses for hyper-masculinity by doubling down on the deep friendship that keeps Harley and Ivy firmly rooted.
From Salon ● Feb. 9, 2023
However, the medical community ridicules him for the effort, and he’s never able to repeat his success.
From "A Heart in a Body in the World" by Deb Caletti
Former Sheffield United player Maddy Cusack was concerned she would be stigmatised and ridiculed over her mental health, an inquest has heard.
From BBC ● Jun. 29, 2026
As to those analogues: Jackson ridiculed Alito’s refusal to acknowledge that they show how “states routinely required affirmative consent for armed carry onto private property” at the founding.
From Slate ● Jun. 25, 2026
Her expensive renovation of the dilapidated White House was ridiculed as ostentatious and an inappropriate use of money during wartime.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 11, 2026
When she did, she was maliciously disbelieved and ridiculed by the likes of Drake and 50 Cent.
From Salon ● Apr. 30, 2026
It was one thing to be ridiculed by my classmates, another to be pitied by a teacher.
From "We Are the Ants" by Shaun David Hutchinson
"For example, a tweet being shared to allege homophobia on my part was actually ridiculing homophobia," he said.
From BBC ● Dec. 28, 2025
At a demonstration outside the Parliament building in the Bulgarian capital, a giant screen looped videos and memes ridiculing politicians.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 11, 2025
To say there even is such a thing reduces a wildly diverse group into a trite narrative that I’ve spent my career trying to debunk, when not ridiculing it altogether.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 16, 2024
Raising his phone to capture the confrontation on video, the senator began ridiculing her.
From New York Times ● May 26, 2024
I did not hear the whispers of “backyard snob” or the ridiculing laughter.
From "Purple Hibiscus" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
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.
