Meaning & use
ludicrous
Last updated
Meanings
adjectivecomparable
So silly or unreasonable that it is hard to take seriously.
Grammar: Can come before a noun or after a verb: a ludicrous idea; the idea is ludicrous.
Patterns
- it is ludicrous to do something
- a ludicrous idea
It is ludicrous to expect the whole town to be ready in a day.
The excuse he gave was ludicrous.
She laughed at the ludicrous suggestion that the dog had written the letter.
adjectivecomparableinformal
Extremely large or extreme in a way that seems out of proportion.
Grammar: Used with amounts and prices, often to express disbelief.
Patterns
- ludicrous amount of something
- ludicrous price
They charged a ludicrous price for a bottle of water.
He spent a ludicrous amount of time on a tiny detail.
The traffic made the ludicrous trip last four hours.
Word forms
| comparative | more ludicrous |
|---|---|
| superlative | most ludicrous |
Common combinations
- ludicrous idea
- The idea of moving the airport into the city center is ludicrous.
- ludicrous claim
- Nobody believed his ludicrous claim.
- utterly ludicrous
- The rule is utterly ludicrous.
- ludicrous price
- The hotel charged a ludicrous price for breakfast.
- sound ludicrous
- It may sound ludicrous, but the plan worked.
Synonyms and how they differ
- absurd
- Absurd means against reason or common sense and can be serious, while ludicrous adds a sense that it is laughable.
- ridiculous
- Ridiculous is the most common everyday word and can be gently mocking, whereas ludicrous is somewhat stronger.
- preposterous
- Preposterous suggests something so unreasonable that it is outrageous, and is more formal.
- silly
- Silly is mild and often affectionate, so it is much weaker than ludicrous.
Opposites
Word family
- ludicrously adverb
- in an absurd way
- ludicrousness noun
- the quality of being absurd
- ludic adjective
- relating to play, a rare related word
- delude verb
- to mislead, from a related Latin root
Commonly confused: ludicrous or ludicrus? ludicrous or lucrative?
ludicrous vs ludicrus
Ludicrus is a common misspelling; the correct form ends in -crous.
ludicrous vs lucrative
Lucrative means profitable, and the similar start can cause mix-ups.
Practice
The shop wanted a thousand dollars for a plain paper bag. A shopper might call the price ___.
Choose one answer.
Ludicrous suits a price so extreme it seems absurd. Lucrative means profitable, and negligible and modest suggest small amounts.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “ludicrous”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.