Meaning & use
ridiculous
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Meanings
adjectivecomparable
So silly, unreasonable or unlikely that people cannot take it seriously.
Grammar: Can come before a noun or after be: a ridiculous idea, that is ridiculous.
Patterns
- it is ridiculous that ...
- it is ridiculous to do something
- absolutely ridiculous
It is ridiculous to expect an answer by tomorrow.
That is the most ridiculous excuse I have ever heard.
The idea of walking to the airport was ridiculous.
adjectivebefore a nouninformal
Extreme in amount or degree, often in a way that is too much to be fair.
Grammar: Informal use before a noun to stress size: ridiculous prices.
Patterns
- ridiculous prices
- a ridiculous amount of something
Concert tickets now cost a ridiculous amount of money.
He has a ridiculous number of shoes.
The rent in this area is ridiculous.
adjectivecomparableinformal
Funny in a way that makes you laugh because it is so odd or exaggerated.
Grammar: Informal and friendly; describes something amusing, not harmful.
Patterns
- look ridiculous
- feel ridiculous
I looked ridiculous in that giant hat.
The cat's ridiculous dance made everyone laugh.
She felt ridiculous wearing a costume to a normal dinner.
Word forms
| comparative | more ridiculous |
|---|---|
| superlative | most ridiculous |
Common combinations
- utterly ridiculous
- His story was utterly ridiculous, yet everyone believed it.
- a ridiculous idea
- Moving to Mars next week is a ridiculous idea.
- ridiculous prices
- The shop charges ridiculous prices for water.
- look ridiculous
- You will look ridiculous in those shoes.
- sublime to the ridiculous
- The show goes from the sublime to the ridiculous in minutes.
Synonyms and how they differ
- absurd
- Absurd suggests something that goes against logic or common sense, and it sounds slightly more formal than ridiculous.
- ludicrous
- Ludicrous is stronger and often means so silly that it is laughable.
- preposterous
- Preposterous is more dramatic and stresses that something is completely unreasonable.
- silly
- Silly is lighter and gentler, used for small harmless foolishness.
Opposites
Word family
- ridicule noun
- words or actions that make someone look foolish
- ridicule verb
- to laugh at someone in an unkind way
- ridiculously adverb
- in an absurd or extreme way
- ridiculousness noun
- the quality of being absurd
Commonly confused: ridiculous or ridicule?
ridiculous vs ridicule
Ridicule is a noun or verb meaning to mock, whereas ridiculous is the adjective for something that deserves mockery.
Practice
It is ___ to charge so much for a bottle of tap water.
Choose one answer.
Ridiculous is the adjective that follows it is and describes something unreasonable. The other forms are verb or noun forms and do not fit.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “ridiculous”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.