Ludicrous

3 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Ludicrous \Lu"di*crous\, a. [L. ludicrus, or ludicer, from ludus
     play, sport, fr. ludere to play.]
     1. Adapted to excite laughter, without scorn or contempt;
        sportive. --Broome.
        [1913 Webster]
  


              A chapter upon German rhetoric would be in the same
              ludicrous predicament as Van Troil's chapter on the
              snakes of Iceland, which delivers its business in
              one summary sentence, announcing, that snakes in
              Iceland -- there are none.            --De Quincey.
  
     2. Ridiculously absurd.
        [PJC]
  
     Syn: Laughable; sportive; burlesque; comic; droll;
          ridiculous.
  
     Usage: {Ludicrous}, {Laughable}, {Ridiculous}. We speak of a
            thing as ludicrous when it tends to produce laughter;
            as laughable when the impression is somewhat stronger;
            as ridiculous when more or less contempt is mingled
            with the merriment created. -- {Lu"di*crous*ly}, adv.
            -- {Lu"di*crous*ness}, n.
            [1913 Webster]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  ludicrous
       adj 1: broadly or extravagantly humorous; resembling farce; "the
              wild farcical exuberance of a clown"; "ludicrous green
              hair" [syn: {farcical}, {ridiculous}]
       2: completely devoid of wisdom or good sense; "the absurd
          excuse that the dog ate his homework"; "that's a cockeyed
          idea"; "ask a nonsensical question and get a nonsensical
          answer"; "a contribution so small as to be laughable"; "it
          is ludicrous to call a cottage a mansion"; "a preposterous
          attempt to turn back the pages of history"; "her conceited
          assumption of universal interest in her rather dull
          children was ridiculous" [syn: {absurd}, {cockeyed}, {derisory},
           {idiotic}, {laughable}, {nonsensical}, {preposterous}, {ridiculous}]

From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:

  41 Moby Thesaurus words for "ludicrous":
     absurd, amusing, antic, beyond belief, bizarre, cockamamie, comic,
     comical, crazy, droll, eccentric, extravagant, fantastic, farcical,
     foolish, funny, grotesque, high-flown, hilarious, humorous,
     incongruous, incredible, laughable, monstrous, nonsensical,
     outrageous, outre, poppycockish, preposterous, priceless, quaint,
     quizzical, rich, ridiculous, risible, screaming, silly, weird,
     whimsical, wild, witty