risible
adjective
Did you know?
Say “cheese”! Now say thank you to the risorius muscles near the corners of your mouth for helping you smile. You might find this exercise a bit ridiculous—risible, even—but we’re here to explain that there is no need for derision; it’s for a wordy reason. Risible, ridiculous, derision, and risorius all come from the Latin verb ridēre, meaning “to laugh.” This etymology helps make the meaning of risible clear; something is described as risible (such as saying “cheese” out loud to yourself while looking at your phone/computer) when it arouses or provokes laughter. But just as its synonym laughable often describes things deserving not just of laughter but of eye-rolling scorn, risible is frequently applied to that which merits both sneer and chortle, scoff and guffaw. Words are funny like that.
Examples of risible in a Sentence
Charles Bramesco, Vulture, 10 Apr. 2025
Kagame’s claims that the FDLR poses a threat to Rwanda are similarly risible.
—Michela Wrong, Foreign Affairs, 13 Apr. 2023
But the confidence and craftsmanship invested in Crash are, ultimately, the problem, because the infuriatingly contrived screenplay and hushed seriousness conspire to produce a risible portrait of complex social issues reduced to glib plot points.
—Will Leitch, Vulture, 3 Mar. 2025
Without wanting to hurt the tender feelings of a hundred million gamers, why are the fundamentals of speech and locomotion still so risible to behold?
—Anthony Lane, The New Yorker, 26 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for risible
Cite this Entry
“Risible.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/risible. Accessed 29 May. 2025.
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risible
adjective
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