preposterous

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preposterous

/pɹɪˈpɒstəɹəs/ UK
/pɹɪˈpɒstɹəs/ UK
/pɹə-/ UK
/pɹəˈpɑstəɹəs/ US
/pɹəˈpɑstɹəs/ US

Where it comes from

From Latin praeposterus (“with the hinder part before, reversed, inverted, perverted”), from prae (“before”) + posterus (“coming after”).

adjective more preposterous · most preposterous · præposterous

Absurd, or contrary to common sense. [...] I did incounter that obſeene and moſt prepoſterous euent that draweth frõ my ſnowhite pen the ebon coloured Incke, which here thou vieweſt, beholdeſt, ſuruayeſt, or ſeeſt. [...] There did I ſee that low ſpirited Swaine, [...] hight Coſtard, (Clow[ne]. O mee) ſorted and conſorted contrary to th
Similar: absurd, foolish, irrational, nonsensical

Thesaurus

Closest in meaning: absurd, ridiculous, ludicrous, derisory, foolish, nonsensical, bizarre, nonsense, surrealist, aberrant, surrealistic, surreal, outrageous, grotesque, scandalous, silly

Translations

Every language

adj absurd, or contrary to common sense

Español	insensato, prepóstero, descabellado
한국어	어처구니없다 eocheogunieopda
中文	荒謬的 /荒谬的 huāngmiùde
Português	absurdo, insensato
Français	aberrant, absurde, insensé, ridicule
Deutsch	grotesk, unmöglich, unerträglich, unsagbar, unsäglich
Italiano	irragionevole, insensato, assurdo
Русский	неле́пый nelépyj, абсу́рдный absúrdnyj
Tiếng Việt	vô lý

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MLA

"preposterous." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/preposterous. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

preposterous. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/preposterous

Chicago

"preposterous." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/preposterous.

BibTeX

@misc{preposterous_2026,
  title = {preposterous},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/preposterous},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}