Ludicrous

Pronunciation

• RP IPA: /ˈluː.dɪ.krÉ™s/, /ˈljuː.dɪ.krÉ™s/
• US IPA: /ˈluː.dɪ.krÉ™s/

Origin

First attested in 1619. From Latin lūdicrus, from lūdō ("play").

Full definition of ludicrous

Adjective

1. Idiotic or unthinkable, often to the point of being funny.
• 1898, Winston Churchill, The Celebrity Chapter 3, Now all this was very fine, but not at all in keeping with the Celebrity's character as I had come to conceive it. The idea that adulation ever cloyed on him was ludicrous in itself. In fact I thought the whole story fishy, and came very near to saying so.
2. He made a ludicrous attempt to run for office.
3. Amusing by being plainly incongruous or absurd.
• 1918, W. B. Maxwell, The Mirror and the Lamp Chapter 2, She was a fat, round little woman, richly apparelled in velvet and lace, …; and the way she laughed, cackling like a hen, the way she talked to the waiters and the maid, â€¦—all these unexpected phenomena impelled one to hysterical mirth, and made one class her with such immortally ludicrous types as Ally Sloper, the Widow Twankey, or Miss Moucher.

Synonyms

• (idiotic or unthinkable) laughable, ridiculous

Related terms

• (idiotic or unthinkable) ludicrously, ludicrousness