RIDICULE

derision, ridicule

(noun) the act of deriding or treating with contempt

ridicule

(noun) language or behavior intended to mock or humiliate

ridicule, roast, guy, blackguard, laugh at, jest at, rib, make fun, poke fun

(verb) subject to laughter or ridicule; “The satirists ridiculed the plans for a new opera house”; “The students poked fun at the inexperienced teacher”; “His former students roasted the professor at his 60th birthday”

Source: WordNet® 3.1


Etymology 1

Verb

ridicule (third-person singular simple present ridicules, present participle ridiculing, simple past and past participle ridiculed)

(transitive) to criticize or disapprove of someone or something through scornful jocularity; to make fun of

Synonyms

• outlaugh

Noun

ridicule (countable and uncountable, plural ridicules)

derision; mocking or humiliating words or behaviour

An object of sport or laughter; a laughing stock.

The quality of being ridiculous; ridiculousness.

Synonyms

• See also ridicule

Adjective

ridicule (comparative more ridicule, superlative most ridicule)

(obsolete) ridiculous

Etymology 2

Noun

ridicule (plural ridicules)

(now, historical) A small woman's handbag; a reticule. [from 18th c.]

Source: Wiktionary


Rid"i*cule, n. Etym: [F. ridicule, L. ridiculum a jest, fr. ridiculus. See Ridiculous.]

1. An object of sport or laughter; a laughingstock; a laughing matter. [Marlborough] was so miserably ignorant, that his deficiencies made him the ridicule of his contemporaries. Buckle. To the people . . . but a trifle, to the king but a ridicule. Foxe.

2. Remarks concerning a subject or a person designed to excite laughter with a degree of contempt; wit of that species which provokes contemptuous laughter; disparagement by making a person an object of laughter; banter; -- a term lighter than derision. We have in great measure restricted the meaning of ridicule, which would properly extend over whole region of the ridiculous, -- the laughable, -- and we have narrowed it so that in common usage it mostly corresponds to "derision", which does indeed involve personal and offensive feelings. Hare. Safe from the bar, the pulpit, and the throne, Yet touched and shamed by ridicule alone. Pope.

3. Quality of being ridiculous; ridiculousness. [Obs.] To see the ridicule of this practice. Addison.

Syn.

– Derision; banter; raillery; burlesque; mockery; irony; satire; sarcasm; gibe; jeer; sneer.

– Ridicule, Derision, Both words imply disapprobation; but ridicule usually signifies good-natured, fun-loving opposition without manifest malice, while derision is commonly bitter and scornful, and sometimes malignant.

Rid"i*cule, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Ridiculed;p. pr. & vb. n. Ridiculing.]

Definition: To laugh at mockingly or disparagingly; to awaken ridicule toward or respecting. I 've known the young, who ridiculed his rage. Goldsmith.

Syn.

– To deride; banter; rally; burlesque; mock; satirize; lampoon. See Deride.

Rid"i*cule, a. Etym: [F.]

Definition: Ridiculous. [Obs.] This action . . . became so ridicule. Aubrey.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition



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Word of the Day

24 February 2025

ANOMALY

(noun) (astronomy) position of a planet as defined by its angular distance from its perihelion (as observed from the sun)


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Coffee Trivia

The Boston Tea Party helped popularize coffee in America. The hefty tea tax imposed on the colonies in 1773 resulted in America switching from tea to coffee. In the lead up to the Revolutionary War, it became patriotic to sip java instead of tea. The Civil War made the drink more pervasive. Coffee helped energize tired troops, and drinking it became an expression of freedom.

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