Adjacent Words

Ridicule definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

RID'ICULE, n. [L. ridiculum, from rideo, to laugh or laugh at.]
1. Contemptuous laughter; laughter with some degree of contempt; derision. It expresses less than scorn. Ridicule is aimed at what is not only laughable, but improper, absurd or despicable. Sacred subjects should never be treated with ridicule. [See Ludicrous.]
Ridicule is too rough an entertainment for the polished and refined. It is banished from France, and is losing ground in England.
2. That species of writing which excites contempt with laughter. It differs from burlesque, which may excite laughter without contempt, or it may provoke derision.
Ridicule and derision are not exactly the same, as derision is applied to persons only, and ridicule to persons or things. We deride the man, but ridicule the man or his performances.
RID'ICULE, v.t.
1. To laugh at with expressions of contempt; to deride.
2. To treat with contemptuous merriment; to expose to contempt or derision by writing.
RID'ICULE, a. Ridiculous. [Not in use.]

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: language or behavior intended to mock or humiliate
2: the act of deriding or treating with contempt [syn: derision, ridicule] v
1: subject to laughter or ridicule; "The satirists ridiculed the plans for a new opera house"; "The students poked fun at the inexperienced teacher"; "His former students roasted the professor at his 60th birthday" [syn: ridicule, roast, guy, blackguard, laugh at, jest at, rib, make fun, poke fun]

Merriam Webster's

I. noun Etymology: French or Latin; French, from Latin ridiculum jest Date: 1690 the act of ridiculing ; derision, mockery II. transitive verb (-culed; -culing) Date: circa 1700 to make fun of • ridiculer noun Synonyms: ridicule, deride, mock, taunt mean to make an object of laughter of. ridicule implies a deliberate often malicious belittling <consistently ridiculed everything she said>. deride suggests contemptuous and often bitter ridicule <derided their efforts to start their own business>. mock implies scorn often ironically expressed as by mimicry or sham deference <youngsters began to mock the helpless wino>. taunt suggests jeeringly provoking insult or challenge <hometown fans taunted the visiting team>.

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. & v. --n. subjection to derision or mockery. --v.tr. make fun of; subject to ridicule; laugh at. Etymology: F or f. L ridiculum neut. of ridiculus laughable f. ridere laugh

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Ridicule Rid"i*cule, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Ridiculed;p. pr. & vb. n. Ridiculing.] To laugh at mockingly or disparagingly; to awaken ridicule toward or respecting. I 've known the young, who ridiculed his rage. --Goldsmith. Syn: To deride; banter; rally; burlesque; mock; satirize; lampoon. See Deride.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Ridicule Rid"i*cule, a. [F.] Ridiculous. [Obs.] This action . . . became so ridicule. --Aubrey.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Ridicule Rid"i*cule, n. [F. ridicule, L. ridiculum a jest, fr. ridiculus. See Ridiculous.] 1. An object of sport or laughter; a laughingstock; a laughing matter. [Marlborough] was so miserably ignorant, that his deficiencies made him the ridicule of his contemporaries. --Buckle. To the people . . . but a trifle, to the king but a ridicule. --Foxe. 2. Remarks concerning a subject or a person designed to excite laughter with a degree of contempt; wit of that species which provokes contemptuous laughter; disparagement by making a person an object of laughter; banter; -- a term lighter than derision. We have in great measure restricted the meaning of ridicule, which would properly extend over whole region of the ridiculous, -- the laughable, -- and we have narrowed it so that in common usage it mostly corresponds to ``derision'', which does indeed involve personal and offensive feelings. --Hare. Safe from the bar, the pulpit, and the throne, Yet touched and shamed by ridicule alone. --Pope. 3. Quality of being ridiculous; ridiculousness. [Obs.] To see the ridicule of this practice. --Addison. Syn: Derision; banter; raillery; burlesque; mockery; irony; satire; sarcasm; gibe; jeer; sneer. Usage: Ridicule, Derision, Both words imply disapprobation; but ridicule usually signifies good-natured, fun-loving opposition without manifest malice, while derision is commonly bitter and scornful, and sometimes malignant.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(ridicules, ridiculing, ridiculed) 1. If you ridicule someone or ridicule their ideas or beliefs, you make fun of them in an unkind way. I admired her all the more for allowing them to ridicule her and never striking back... = mock VERB: V n 2. If someone or something is an object of ridicule or is held up to ridicule, someone makes fun of them in an unkind way. As a heavy child, she became the object of ridicule from classmates...

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

I. n. Derision, mockery, raillery, satire, sarcasm, gibe, jeer, sneer, banter, wit, burlesque, irony. II. v. a. Deride, mock, scout, satirize, lampoon, jeer, taunt, rally, banter, burlesque, laugh at, scoff at, make game of, make fun of, make a butt of.

Moby Thesaurus

airs, arrogance, badinage, banter, barrack, be above, be contemptuous of, be disrespectful, be merry with, be overfamiliar with, brashness, brassiness, brazenfacedness, brazenness, burlesque, care nothing for, caricature, chaff, cheekiness, clannishness, cliquishness, cockiness, contemn, contempt, contemptuousness, contumely, crack a joke, crack wise, dare, denigrate, denigration, deprecate, deprecation, depreciate, depreciation, deride, deriding, derision, despise, despite, discommend, discommendation, discourtesy, disdain, disdainfulness, disesteem, dishonor, disparage, disparagement, dispraise, disprize, disrespect, disrespectfulness, disvaluation, disvalue, dump on, exchange, exclusiveness, face of brass, feel contempt for, feel superior to, fleer at, flippancy, flout, fooling, fooling around, freshness, fun, get fresh, get smart, gibe, gibe at, gibing, give-and-take, good-natured banter, grin at, guy, harmless teasing, hauteur, have a nerve, have the cheek, have the gall, haze, hold beneath one, hold cheap, hold in contempt, hold in derision, impertinence, impudence, insolence, insult, irreverence, jape, jeer, jeer at, jeering, jest, jibe, jive, joke, josh, joshing, kid, kid around, kidding, kidding around, lack of respect, lampoon, laugh at, laugh to scorn, look down upon, lout, make a funny, make bold, make free with, make fun, make fun of, make game of, make merry with, mimic, misprize, mock, mockery, mocking, not respect, pan, parody, persiflage, pillory, play on words, pleasantry, point at, poke fun at, presume, pun, put down, put one on, quip, quiz, rag, raillery, rally, rallying, rank low, razz, razzing, rib, ribbing, ride, roast, rudeness, scintillate, scoff, scoff at, scorn, scornfulness, scout, send up, set at naught, show disrespect for, smile at, sneer, sneer at, sneeze at, snicker at, sniff at, sniffiness, snigger at, snobbishness, snootiness, snort at, snottiness, sovereign contempt, sparkle, sport, superciliousness, take a liberty, take liberties, take liberties with, taunt, taunting, tease, think nothing of, toploftiness, travesty, treat with disrespect, trifle with, twit, utter a mot, wisecrack