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Synonym Chooser

How does the adjective ridiculous differ from other similar words?

Some common synonyms of ridiculous are comical, comic, laughable, and ludicrous. While all these words mean "provoking laughter or mirth," ridiculous suggests extreme absurdity, foolishness, or contemptibility.

a ridiculous display of anger

When is comic a more appropriate choice than ridiculous?

The meanings of comic and ridiculous largely overlap; however, comic applies especially to what arouses thoughtful amusement.

a comic character

When is it sensible to use comical instead of ridiculous?

The synonyms comical and ridiculous are sometimes interchangeable, but comical applies to what arouses spontaneous hilarity.

a comical hat

When can laughable be used instead of ridiculous?

In some situations, the words laughable and ridiculous are roughly equivalent. However, laughable applies to anything occasioning laughter.

laughable attempts at skating

When would ludicrous be a good substitute for ridiculous?

Although the words ludicrous and ridiculous have much in common, ludicrous suggests absurdity that excites both laughter and scorn.

a thriller with a ludicrous plot

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of ridiculous Having to walk past 40,000+ items to select the twenty or so items consumers have on their shopping list is just ridiculous; and helped fuel the growth of online grocery shopping. Phil Lempert, Forbes.com, 13 Sep. 2025 Oracle surged nearly 40% on Wednesday after the company pointed to a ridiculous demand surge from AI firms for its cloud services, roughly $500 billion in backlog. Jeff Kilburg, CNBC, 12 Sep. 2025 But that’s the end of my concurrence with this cosmetic and ridiculous stunt of showmanship. Andreas Kluth, Twin Cities, 11 Sep. 2025 The Bachelor franchise has always stuck by a somewhat silly dogma—that despite the fact that its premise (one star dating 20-plus suitors) is ridiculous and inherently a little raunchy, the show is at its core a pure slice of an Americana fairy tale. Stephanie McNeal, Glamour, 10 Sep. 2025 See All Example Sentences for ridiculous
Recent Examples of Synonyms for ridiculous
Adjective
  • There’s no denying that catfish noodling is an absurd sport.
    Natalie Krebs, Outdoor Life, 11 Sep. 2025
  • Barely any other media in recent times has given me an instant shock of glee or revulsion like this absurd anarcho-cartoon being stretched and squeezed to its most grotesque and wholesome clickbait limits.
    Kieran Press-Reynolds, Pitchfork, 10 Sep. 2025
Adjective
  • Zambians are warm, funny, proud.
    Daniel Scheffler, Forbes.com, 12 Sep. 2025
  • Darkly funny and deeply melancholic, the film turns the family estate into a pressure cooker of grief, grudges and reluctant affection.
    Scott Roxborough, HollywoodReporter, 10 Sep. 2025
Adjective
  • Mea Culpa is Perry at his most knowingly silly, and a throwback to erotic thrillers of decades past.
    Declan Gallagher, Entertainment Weekly, 14 Sep. 2025
  • For every community of mass-shooter fandoms, there is another that is silly, joyous, productive, or totally harmless.
    Charlie Warzel, The Atlantic, 12 Sep. 2025
Adjective
  • There are a lot of different kinds of reminiscing on here, humorous and serious.
    Chris Willman, Variety, 12 Sep. 2025
  • On stage, DeMarco projected a charismatic, likable and humorous persona that went beyond his simple attire of a baseball cap and a T-shirt.
    David Chiu, Forbes.com, 10 Sep. 2025
Adjective
  • The end of that era came slowly, through the pathetic collapse of Syria and Lebanon as functioning states, and then quickly, when Israel began touching Hezbollah in unexpected places.
    Graeme Wood, The Atlantic, 2 Sep. 2025
  • Want the poop on this pathetic history?
    Brian Domitrovic, Forbes.com, 30 Aug. 2025
Adjective
  • Since 2022, Wysocki has established himself as social media’s favorite cast member on Make Some Noise, Dropout’s game show in which contestants are rewarded points for improvising scenes based on comedic prompts.
    Kathryn VanArendonk, Vulture, 15 Sep. 2025
  • But only the older duo of the comedic TV trio made it to the Disney post-Emmys party at Los Angeles' Vibina restaurant.
    USA Today, USA Today, 15 Sep. 2025
Adjective
  • Hacking a pre-Internet console Making this amusing amalgam of past and present technology possible required some clever engineering.
    ArsTechnica, ArsTechnica, 12 Sep. 2025
  • DeMarco was also entetaining with his amusing banter in between songs while encouraging his New York fans to clap and wave their arms.
    David Chiu, Forbes.com, 10 Sep. 2025
Adjective
  • In some comical cases, the ads were served by Google’s ad server to Google’s own bots.
    Nikita Ostrovsky, Time, 10 Sep. 2025
  • Some speeches were heartfelt, comical and even self-deprecating at times, while others addressed social and political issues.
    Hikmat Mohammed, Footwear News, 10 Sep. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Ridiculous.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ridiculous. Accessed 18 Sep. 2025.

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