laughable

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English

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Etymology

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From laugh +‎ -able.

Pronunciation

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Adjective

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laughable (comparative more laughable, superlative most laughable)

  1. (now rare) Fitted to excite laughter; humorous.
    Synonyms: comical, droll, humorful, ludicrous, risible, ridiculous
    • 1808–10, William Hickey, Memoirs of a Georgian Rake, Folio Society 1995, p. 91:
      At this our first dinner at the Government House a very laughable incident occurred.
  2. Worthless; worthy of contempt or derision.
    Synonyms: derisible, pathetic, risible
    • 2012 June 3, Nathan Rabin, “TV: Review: THE SIMPSONS (CLASSIC): “Mr. Plow” (season 4, episode 9; originally aired 11/19/1992)”, in (Please provide the book title or journal name)[1]:
      It would be difficult, for example, to imagine a bigger, more obvious subject for comedy than the laughable self-delusion of washed-up celebrities, especially if the washed-up celebrity in question is Adam West, a camp icon who can go toe to toe with William Shatner as the king of winking self-parody.
    • 2023 January 6, “Prince Harry book Spare: King Charles made ‘sadistic’ joke about Prince Harry’s ‘real’ dad”, in NZ Herald[2]:
      “Maybe it made them feel better about their lives that a young prince’s life was laughable. Never mind that my mother didn’t meet Major Hewitt until long after I was born,” he wrote.

Derived terms

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Translations

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See also

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