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

But Defend Our Juries said in a statement beforehand it hoped police "choose to prioritise protecting the public from real terrorism, and not waste resources on enforcing the absurd and ridiculous ban on Palestine Action".

From BBC

"I disagree with some of the things they're saying and some of the things they're saying are absolutely ridiculous and abysmal."

From BBC

"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

Related Words

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