ridiculous
Part of speech: adj
Morphological type: derivation
Etymology: Borrowed from Latin rīdiculus (“laughable, ridiculous”); Equivalent to ridicule + -ous.
Base: ridicule
Affixes: -ous
Inflected forms:
form: more ridiculous
pos: adj
tags: comparative
form: most ridiculous
pos: adj
tags: superlative
form: rediculous
pos: adj
tags: alternative
form: radiculous
pos: adj
tags: alternative
Senses:
gloss: Deserving of ridicule; foolish, absurd.
pos: adj
examples: That hairstyle looks ridiculous.
It's ridiculous to charge so much for a little souvenir.
You make ridiculous statements a lot, like saying that UFOs are real.
All the characters he has imitated are of the heroic kind, excepting only one ridiculous perſonage, that he has but once exhibited, I mean Therʃites.
[...] if you reprimand or punish them, be assured every one will consider you importunate as well as ridiculous.
The novelist, whom people hardly believe, considering his pictures as ridiculous fancies, but who has devoted his life to explore in secret places; behind the curtain, where we cannot follow—where all is inaccessible to us.
Many of the so-called rites of these secret societies were so patently ridiculous, that it is quite obvious that they were merely an excuse for men and women to indulge in sex-play and lustful gratification, frequently of an abnormal kind.
And they are dangerous because when worn they make their wearer look ridiculous and contemptible to those not enthralled by the same fashion; and when their moment has passed they take up precious closet space, taunting you and making you lament of money that should have been spent on something more longevous.
Does that ridiculous person aspire to esteem? Refuse him that esteem in a piquant and surprising manner, and you will be creating comedy.
Mike, a British Cycle leader, said the situation there was now “ridiculous”, adding: “The noise from cars and motorbikes can be heard even from mountain tops in the vicinity of the A5.
“The call for his sack to me is ridiculous and mischievous. The Northern youths did not agitate for the sack of previous Defence Ministers. Why General Musa?”
The racist backlash was — needless to say — unwarranted, and incredibly ridiculous considering Ariel is a fictional, animated character. And we don't know what a mermaid actually looks like (or if they even exist).
[...] if you end up with two Democrats in this ridiculous top two system, which is a very real possibility, if we don’t consolidate on the Republican side, that is a disaster for our state.
It seems a little ridiculous to brand one of the oldest cities in the world as “up and coming,” but in certain circles, that’s exactly the working title of Athens these days.
Not only is this petty beyond belief, it’s also pretty ridiculous. When was the last time either of those two women allowed one solitary square of chocolate to pass their lips?
gloss: Astonishing, extreme, unbelievable.
pos: adj
tags: informal
examples: In a ridiculous feat of engineering, the team can calculate the difference in arrival time to within one-tenth of a nanosecond.
Gaines is a classic motor player with a low center of gravity and ridiculous strength.
Related words: deride
derision
ridiculable
ridicularity
ridicule
ridiculosity
Derived words: nonridiculous
ridic
ridiculously
ridiculousness
unridiculous
Translations: