ridicule
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ridicule¹
- /ˈɹɪdɪkjuːl/
Where it comes from
The obsolete adjective is borrowed from French ridicule, from Latin rīdiculus (“laughable, comical, amusing, absurd, ridiculous”), from ridere (“to laugh”).
The noun is either from French, noun use of adjective, or from Latin rīdiculum, noun use of neuter of rīdiculus.
The verb is from the noun or else from French ridiculer, from ridicule.
verb ridicules · ridiculing · ridiculed
noun ridicules
- Derision; mocking or humiliating words or behavior. Safe from the Bar, the Pulpit, and the Throne, / Yet touch'd and sham'd by Ridicule alone.
- An object of sport or laughter; a laughing stock. [Marlborough] was so miserably ignorant, that his deficiencies made him the ridicule of his contemporaries.
- The quality of being ridiculous; ridiculousness. to see the ridicule of this monstrous practice
Similar: ridicule, derision, scoff, mockery, katagelasticism
adjective more ridicule · most ridicule
- ridiculous late 17th century, John Aubrey, Brief Lives This action […] became so ridicule.
ridicule²
- /ˈɹɪdɪkjuːl/
Where it comes from
Apparently from French ridicule (“reticule”), probably a punning alteration of réticule after ridicule (“ridicule”).
noun ridicules
- A small woman's handbag; a reticule. […] while paying her own compliments to Mrs. Bates, and appearing to attend to the good old lady’s replies, she saw her with a sort of anxious parade of mystery fold up a letter which she had apparently been reading aloud to Miss Fairfax, and return it into the purple and gold ridicule by her side,
Similar: ridicule, derision, scoff, mockery, katagelasticism
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: poke fun, laugh at, derision, blackguard, guy, rib, jest at, make fun, mockery, laughingstock, mock, travesty, ridiculously, joke, deride, laughable
noun
Similar: ridicule, derision, scoff, mockery, katagelasticism
noun
Similar: ridicule, derision, scoff, mockery, katagelasticism
Translations
Every language
verb to make fun of someone
| Español | ridiculizar, poner en ridículo, poner en solfa |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 놀리다 nollida, 비웃다 biutda |
| 日本語 | 嘲笑う azawarau, 嘲笑する chōshō suru |
| 中文 | 嘲笑 cháoxiào |
| Português | ridicularizar |
| Français | ridiculiser, tourner en dérision, tourner en ridicule |
| Deutsch | verspotten |
| Italiano | ridicolizzare |
| Ελληνικά | περιγελώ perigeló, κοροϊδεύω koroïdévo |
| Română | batjocori, ridiculiza |
| Русский | высме́ивать vysméivatʹ, вы́смеять výsmejatʹ, насмеха́ться nasmexátʹsja |
| Tiếng Việt | nhạo báng, giễu cợt, chế nhạo |
| العربية | تَهَكَّمَ tahakkama, سَخِرَ saḵira |
noun derision
| Español | ridiculización |
|---|---|
| हिन्दी | उपहास uphās, खिल्ली khillī |
| Italiano | derisione |
| Русский | насме́шка nasméška |
Talk about this word "ridicule." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/ridicule. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. ridicule. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/ridicule "ridicule." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/ridicule.Cite this
@misc{ridicule_2026,
title = {ridicule},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/ridicule},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
