risible

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adjective ris·i·ble \ ˈri-zə-bəl \

Definition of risible

1 a :capable of laughing

b :disposed to laugh

2 :arousing or provoking laughter; especially :laughable

3 :associated with, relating to, or used in laughter

risible muscles

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risibly

play \-blē\ adverb

See risible defined for English-language learners

See risible defined for kids

risible was our Word of the Day on 05/04/2014. Hear the podcast!

Examples of risible in a Sentence

The suggestion was downright risible.
a risible comment that made the whole class laugh

Recent Examples of risible from the Web

Still, none of it really adds up to much, and the sensual flourishes -- like sneaking off together during a masked ball -- can't obscure the laughs that the most risible dialogue elicits.

— brian lowry, CNN, "'Fifty Shades Darker' careens from erotic to absurd," 29 June 2017
Risible raconteur Jim Shepard imagines The World to Come (Knopf).

— sloane crosley, Vanities, "Mariana Enriquez’s Things We Lost in the Fire, Anders Rydell’s The Book Thieves, and More Brooding Books for the Dark Days of Winter," 19 June 2017
Rothschild’s continued assertions that its patent extends to products simply because they are configured using the Internet are risible rather than simply unreasonable.

— joe mullin, Ars Technica, "Patent-holding company can’t avoid paying attorneys’ fees, appeals court rules," 8 June 2017
This is because Yates’ charge of potential blackmail appears on the surface to be risible.

— eli lake, The Denver Post, "Robert Mueller could save Trump’s presidency," 18 May 2017
Kelly had moments of luck in Fox News when up against interview subjects who were presented to the audience as risible in a sort of kayfabe way.

— daniel d’addario, Time, "Megyn Kelly Needs to Bring More Fox to Her NBC Show," 15 May 2017
The explanation for this was spectacularly risible.

— leonard pitts jr, The Mercury News, "Pitts: Trump is a threat to American democracy," 10 May 2017
The idea that the arts will wither away if the NEA goes away is risible.

— george will, Twin Cities, "George Will: The NEA is a government frill that should be shorn," 16 Mar. 2017
The idea that the arts will wither away if the NEA goes away is risible.

— george f. will, The Mercury News, "Will: Why abolishing the NEA is a fight worth having," 16 Mar. 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'risible.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Did You Know?

If someone makes a ridiculous remark about your risible muscles, he or she is not necessarily deriding your physique. Risible can also mean "associated with laughter," so risible muscles can simply be the ones used for laughing. (You've also got a set of risorius muscles around your mouth that help you smile.) Next time you find something laughable, tip your hat to ridēre, the Latin verb meaning "to laugh" that gave us risible (and ridiculous and deride, by the way).