ludicrous

WOTD - 19 February 2008    

English

Etymology

First attested in 1619. From Latin lūdicrus, from lūdō (“play”).

Pronunciation

• (RP) IPA: /ˈluː.dɪ.krəs/, /ˈljuː.dɪ.krəs/, SAMPA: /"lu:.dI.kr@s/
• (US) IPA: /ˈluː.dɪ.krəs/

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• Audio (US)

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Adjective

ludicrous (comparative more ludicrous, superlative most ludicrous)

1. Idiotic or unthinkable, often to the point of being funny.

   He made a ludicrous attempt to run for office.

Synonyms

• (idiotic or unthinkable): laughable, ridiculous

Translations

idiotic or unthinkable, often to the point of being funny

Catalan: ridícul (ca) Finnish: älytön (fi), absurdi (fi), järjetön (fi), idioottimainen (fi), naurettava (fi) German: aberwitzig (de) Hebrew: מגוחך (he) (megoḥaḥ) m. Hungarian: nevetséges (hu) Indonesian: konyol (id) Italian: ridicolo (it)

Polish: idiotyczny (pl) m., niedorzeczny (pl) m., absurdalny (pl) m., groteskowy (pl) m. Russian: нелепый (ru), абсурдный (ru), смехотворный (ru) Scottish Gaelic: amaideach (gd) Spanish: irrisorio (es), absurdo (es) Swedish: löjlig, skrattretande, absurd

Related terms

• (idiotic or unthinkable): ludicrously, ludicrousness