ridiculous, a.
(rɪˈdɪkjuːləs)
Also 6 ridyculouse; β. 6–8 rediculous.
[ad. L. rīdiculus (see ridicule a.) or rīdiculōsus; cf. F. ridiculeux.]
1. a. Exciting ridicule or derisive laughter; absurd, preposterous, comical, laughable.
| α 1550 Bale Eng. Votaries ii. S j b, A subtile enemye was it..that prouided hym so ridyculouse and obprobriouse a falle. 1570 Foxe A. & M. (ed. 2) 1615/2 It is ridiculous & a very fond aunswere [1563 It is an answere to be laughed at]. 1617 Moryson Itin. i. 258 We all obeyed this ridiculous custome, not to offend them. 1655 Stanley Hist. Philos. (1701) 243/2 You are not unreasonable as some are, who think good advice ridiculous. 1711 J. Greenwood Eng. Gram. 16 We..send our Boys and Girls to learn French, a Custom..very ridiculous and nonsensical. 1745 Eliza Heywood Female Spect. No. 21 (1748) IV. 155 The thing appeared to her so very ridiculous, that..she could not forbear bursting into a loud laughter. 1817 J. Scott Paris Revisit. (ed. 4) 331 No tale was too ridiculous for momentary belief, if it accorded with the national anger. 1879 S. C. Bartlett Egypt to Pal. x. 228 Gazelles sometimes occur, with ridiculous magnitude of horns. 1886 Mabel Collins Prettiest Woman x, It was ridiculous to hurry away like a thief. |
| Comb. 1859 J. White Hist. France (1860) 106 A ridiculous-looking hollow mass composed of plates of iron. |
| β 1579 G. Harvey Letter-bk. (Camden) 63 You see nowe what homely and rediculous stuffe I still sende abroade. 1610 Shakes. Temp. ii. ii. 169 A most rediculous Monster, to make a wonder of a poore drunkard. 1663 Gerbier Counsel 14 Rediculous Ornaments. 1691 L. Eachard Descr. Irel. 24 With great out-Crys, and abundance of rediculous Expostulations. |
b. dial. (and
U.S.). Outrageous, scandalous, shameful, etc.
| 1839 [Sir G. C. Lewis] Hereford Gloss., Ridiculous, scandalous, morally wrong. 1841 C. H. Hartshorne Salop. Antiq. 547 Ridiculous, taken frequently in the sense of indelicate. 1886 Trans. Amer. Philol. Assoc. XVII. 43 In the South we often say, ‘That's a ridiculous affair,’ when we really mean outrageous. 1893 H. T. Cozens-Hardy Broad Norfolk (ed. 2) 98, I never heard of such conduct. I call it right down ridiculous. |
c. slang. Outstanding, excellent.
| 1959 Jazz Summer 209 His technique is ridiculous! 1960 D. Cerulli et al. Jazz Word 95 To a jazzman..ridiculous is wonderful. 1968 Scottish Daily Mail 3 Jan. 6 Superlatives..gradually increased with the years into ‘out-of-sight’, ‘ridiculous’ and ‘unbelievable’. |
2. a. absol. with
the: That which is ridiculous.
| 1742 Fielding J. Andrews Pref., The only source of the true Ridiculous..is affectation. 1795 Paine Age of Reason (ed. 2) ii. 22 One step above the sublime, makes the ridiculous. 1858 O. W. Holmes Aut. Breakf.-t. iv, It is a very dangerous thing for a literary man to indulge his love for the ridiculous. 1863 Sat. Rev. 13 June 755 If there is an air of the ridiculous in the business. |
b. As
adv. Ridiculously, absurdly.
dial. and
colloq.| 1830 Galt Lawrie T. iii. ix, It was ridiculous strong. 1834 C. F. Hoffman Winter in West (1835) I. 270 Those Indians behaved most ridiculous. They dashed children's brains against the door-posts. 1976 Daily Mirror 11 Mar. 24/2 Don't talk ridiculous! |
3. Derisive, mocking.
rare—1.
| 1771 Luckombe Hist. Printing 132 Scurrilous pamphlets wrote..in a snarleing and ridiculous manner. |