ridiculous

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“
The only difference between the sublime and the ridiculous is the proverbial step.

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Definitions (9)

Toggle American Heritage definitions American Heritage Dictionary (1)

  1. adjective Deserving or inspiring ridicule; absurd, preposterous, or silly. See Synonyms at foolish.

Toggle Century definitions Century Dictionary (4)

Toggle GNU Webster definitions GNU Webster's 1913 (1)

Toggle WordNet definitions WordNet (3)

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Examples (50)

  • I had an exceedingly keen eye for the ridiculous, and easily influenced as I still was, I could not content myself with a smile. —  Recollections Of My Childhood And Youth
  • Every old record made ridiculous, and the nervous and sullen weatherpeople admitted finally that there was no end in sight. —  F ;SF; - vol 089 issue 02 - August 1995
  • Smith said plainly that the instructions were ridiculous, and wrote an answer to them in blunt soldier English. —  American Men of Action
  • Here a good organ; but a vain pragmatical fellow preached a ridiculous, affected sermon, that made me angry, and some gentlemen that sat next me, and sang well. —  The Diary of Samuel Pepys
  • At last I closed the business for this morning with making the thing ridiculous, as it is, and he swearing that the King should have right in it, or he would lose his place. —  The Diary of Samuel Pepys
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Roget's II Roget's II: The New Thesaurus

Allen's Allen's Synonyms and Antonyms

Used in the same context Used in the Same Context

absurd ·  ludicrous ·  false ·  childish ·  grotesque ·  extravagant ·  impossible ·  amuse
Roget's II: The New Thesaurus, Third Edition by the Editors of the American Heritage® Dictionary. Copyright © 2003, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Etymologies (2)

Toggle American Heritage etymologies American Heritage Dictionary (1)

  1. From Latin rīdiculus, laughable, from rīdēre, to laugh.

Toggle Century etymologies Century Dictionary (1)

  1. from Latin ridiculus, laughable, ridiculous: see ridicule, a.
 

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/rɪˈdɪkjuləs/
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