risible

[ riz-uh-buhl ]

/ ˈrɪz ə bəl /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR risible ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

causing or capable of causing laughter; laughable; ludicrous.

having the ability, disposition, or readiness to laugh.

pertaining to or connected with laughing.

Nearby words

rise to the occasion, risen, riser, rishi, risibility, risible, rising, rising action, rising damp, rising diphthong, rising hinge

Origin of risible

1550–60; < Late Latin rīsibilis that can laugh, equivalent to Latin rīs(us) (past participle of rīdēre to laugh) + -ibilis -ible

SYNONYMS FOR risible

1 funny, humorous, comical.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR risible ON THESAURUS.COM

Related forms

un·ris·i·ble, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for risible

This year introduced a new, risible entry to the cultural lexicon: “The Coachella Diet.”
Coachella, Oasis For Douchebags and Trust Fund Babies, Should Be Avoided At All Costs|Marlow Stern|April 12, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The argument depends on a number of risible and obviously untrue assumptions.
Single Mothers Are Not America’s Real Welfare Queens|Amanda Marcotte|January 10, 2014|DAILY BEAST
His essay was considered so risible that few even bothered trying to argue with it.
In Defense of Jonathan Franzen|Michelle Goldberg|September 26, 2013|DAILY BEAST
His stature with the French public has sunk from rising star to risible lecher.
Dominique Strauss-Kahn Settles With Maid: How the Case Changed France|Christopher Dickey|December 11, 2012|DAILY BEAST

Funny, but years ago the idea of seatbelts other than in an airplane or tobacco being deadly was risible.
Stop Indulging, America|Margaret Carlson|October 24, 2009|DAILY BEAST
Humor operates from within, with its slow and prolonged excitation of your risible soul.
The Knickerbocker, Vol. 57, No. 1, January 1861|Various
Man is the only risible animal: risibility may be said, therefore, to be his distinguishing mark.
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, Volume 64, No. 398, December 1848|Various
Passing to other fields of life: "Risible—Doctor gives up hope."
Second String|Anthony Hope
The whole thing looked so ludicrous that one's risible faculties were tickled.
British Secret Service During the Great War|Nicholas Everitt
Being a good-humoured fellow, and of a risible nature, the alternations were frequent.
Ungava|R.M. Ballantyne

British Dictionary definitions for risible

risible

/ (ˈrɪzɪbəl) /

adjective

having a tendency to laugh

causing laughter; ridiculous

Derived Forms

risibly, adverb

Word Origin for risible

C16: from Late Latin rīsibilis, from Latin 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