ludicrous

adjective

lu·​di·​crous ˈlü-də-krəs How to pronounce ludicrous (audio)
1
: amusing or laughable through obvious absurdity, incongruity, exaggeration, or eccentricity
2
: meriting derisive laughter or scorn as absurdly inept, false, or foolish
ludicrously adverb
ludicrousness noun
Choose the Right Synonym for ludicrous

laughable, ludicrous, ridiculous, comic, comical mean provoking laughter or mirth.

laughable applies to anything occasioning laughter.

laughable attempts at skating

ludicrous suggests absurdity that excites both laughter and scorn.

a thriller with a ludicrous plot

ridiculous suggests extreme absurdity, foolishness, or contemptibility.

a ridiculous display of anger

comic applies especially to what arouses thoughtful amusement.

a comic character

comical applies to what arouses spontaneous hilarity.

a comical hat

Examples of ludicrous in a Sentence

Some of this censorship is trivial, some is ludicrous, and some is breathtaking in its power to dumb down what children learn in school. Diane Ravitch, The Language Police, 2003
The serious and the absurd have to be learnt together; but ludicrous theatrical buffoonery is fit only for foreigners. Iris Murdoch, The Fire & the Sun, 1977
The girl didn't comment on the steepness, or the brambles, or the fact that it seemed ludicrous to cart furniture through an apparently endless forest. Anne Tyler, The Clock Winder, 1972
Her teachers complained that instead of doing her sums she covered her slate with animals, the blank pages of her atlas were used to copy maps on, and caricatures of the most ludicrous description came fluttering out of all her books at unlucky moments. Louisa May Alcott, Little Women, 1868-69
the ludicrous sight of their teacher in a Halloween costume a ludicrous and easily detected attempt to forge his father's signature on a note to school
Recent Examples on the Web Every so often, the movie throws in an oddball novelty, a quirky touch or ludicrous tangent designed for laughs. David Fear, Rolling Stone, 23 Oct. 2024 And even if the cold math is that the show was not well-watched compared to a ludicrous budget, it’s created a lot of bad blood all the same. Paul Tassi, Forbes, 6 Oct. 2024 Per Paton’s estimates, this ludicrous invention could reach around 3,600 max-rpm with a top speed of 15 mph (24 km/h) – rather quick for something that is essentially a piece of metal on a couple of wheels of extremely varied size. New Atlas, 6 Oct. 2024 As a ludicrous opening bid to be bargained down to something more reasonable, perhaps that demand was justified. The Editors, National Review, 3 Oct. 2024 See all Example Sentences for ludicrous 

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'ludicrous.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Latin ludicrus, from ludus play, sport; perhaps akin to Greek loidoros abusive

First Known Use

1712, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of ludicrous was in 1712

Dictionary Entries Near ludicrous

Cite this Entry

“Ludicrous.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ludicrous. Accessed 31 Oct. 2024.

Kids Definition

ludicrous

adjective
lu·​di·​crous ˈlüd-ə-krəs How to pronounce ludicrous (audio)
: laughable because of being ridiculous
ludicrously adverb
ludicrousness noun

More from Merriam-Webster on ludicrous

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