ridiculous

[ri-dik-yuh-luhs]

adjective

1. causing or worthy of ridicule or derision; absurd; preposterous; laughable.

   a ridiculous plan.

   Synonyms: farcical, comical, droll, funny, ludicrous, nonsensical
   Antonyms: sensible

2. Slang.,  absurdly or unbelievably good, bad, crazy, etc..

   The concert was ridiculous, their best performance ever!

ridiculous

/ rɪˈdɪkjʊləs /

adjective

1. worthy of or exciting ridicule; absurd, preposterous, laughable, or contemptible

Other Word Forms

• ridiculously adverb
• ridiculousness noun
• ridiculosity noun
• hyperridiculous adjective
• hyperridiculously adverb
• quasi-ridiculous adjective
• quasi-ridiculously adverb
• unridiculous adjective
• unridiculously adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of ridiculous¹

First recorded in 1540–50; from Late Latin rīdiculōsus “laughable, droll,” equivalent to Latin rīdicul(us), adjective derivative of rīdiculum ridicule ( def. ) + -ōsus -ous ( def. )

Word History and Origins

Origin of ridiculous¹

C16: from Latin rīdiculōsus , from rīdēre to laugh

Idioms and Phrases

see from the ridiculous to the sublime.

Synonym Study

See absurd.

Example Sentences

"Her free-kick against West Ham was ridiculous, she scores great headers, plus she is great technically and her fitness levels are great."

From BBC

We are taking a ridiculous premise and we’re grounding it in real football teams, in a real world, with real football.

From Los Angeles Times

Other characters regard Chad as strange without seeing him as suspicious and accept the increasingly ridiculous stories Russ invents to keep selling the lie.

From Los Angeles Times

Another says: "the Burnham stuff is just ridiculous."

From BBC

Too often he's been lazy in his work and now he was ridiculous in his discipline.

From BBC

Related Words

• absurd 
• bizarre 
• fantastic 
• foolish 
• goofy 
• impossible 
• incredible 
• laughable 
• ludicrous 
• nonsensical 
• outrageous 
• preposterous 
• silly 
• unbelievable 
• wacky