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ridiculous

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary

English

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Alternative forms

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Etymology

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Borrowed from Latin rīdiculus (“laughable, ridiculous”); Equivalent to ridicule +‎ -ous.

Pronunciation

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Adjective

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ridiculous (comparative more ridiculous, superlative most ridiculous)

  1. Deserving of ridicule; foolish, absurd.
    Synonyms: silly, willy nilly, frivolous, goofy, funny, humorous, absurd, odd, surreal, unreasonable; see also Thesaurus:absurd
    Antonyms: straightforward, serious, somber, solemn
    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.
    • 1936, Rollo Ahmed, The Black Art, London: Long, page 161:
      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.
    • 2006, Nicholas Antongiavanni [pseudonym; Michael Anton], The Suit: A Machiavellian Approach to Men's Style, New York: HarperCollins Publishers, →ISBN, →OCLC, page 52:
      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.
  2. (informal) Astonishing, extreme, unbelievable.
    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.

Derived terms

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Translations

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Further reading

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