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ridiculous Definition

ri·dicu·lous (ri dikyə ləs)

adjective

deserving ridicule

Etymology: L ridiculosus (< ridiculum: see ridicule) or ridiculus

ridiculous Related Forms

ri·dicu·lously adverb ri·dicu·lous·ness noun

ridiculous Synonyms

ridiculous

modif.

ludicrous, absurd, laughable; see absurd, funny 1. See syn. study at absurd.

ridiculous Usage Examples

Modifying Another Word

  • faintly: The whole situation suddenly seemed quite amusing, faintly ridiculous, and I was so bored with all the tantrums.
  • patently: Now you have your say... Is our choice patently ridiculous?
  • frankly: He covers each subject extraordinarily well and isn't afraid to ridicule the frankly ridiculous while finding merit in the strangely compelling.
  • utterly: The notion that the shields were " provided simply for decoration " is too utterly ridiculous to even bother going to the effort to.
  • plainly: It's plainly ridiculous to imagine such people will fight for our interests.
  • absolutely: What I find absolutely ridiculous is the right hon.

Infinitive complement

  • imagine: It's plainly ridiculous to imagine such people will fight for our interests.
  • suggest: It is absolutely ridiculous to suggest that they are.
  • think: It's ridiculous to think of adopting another child when one can't provide for one's own.
  • expect: AMC are a slow burn band, which is why it was always ridiculous to expect them to sell a lot of records.

Modifies a noun

  • notion: Enough time passes to get such a ridiculous notion out of my head.
  • antic: When compared with some of the ridiculous antics going on over at rival networks ( Desperate Housewives, anyone?
  • accusation: I hope you have a good brief, you could be sued making ridiculous accusations like that.
  • assertion: It seems that a key part of progress having the guts to never dismiss an anomaly, mistake or seemingly ridiculous assertion.
  • rumor: He was quick to dismiss these as ridiculous rumors.
  • amount: Growing up in a sleepy town in Devon, he spent most of his time perfecting a ridiculous amount of useless talents.

Used with adjective complement

  • seem: Now I look back, it does seem rather ridiculous.
  • appear: He looks askance at the minutiae to which habit and social decorum usually blind us, reframing them so they appear ridiculous, shocking.
  • look: There are many people who look ridiculous in a dress which is merely a short tunic.
  • sound: This sounds ridiculous, you don't know people, you've not got the finances or the contacts.