| 1 |
[ adjective ] inspiring scornful pity
Examples "how silly an ardent and unsuccessful wooer can be especially if he is getting on in years"- Dashiell Hammett Used in print (Chicago Daily Tribune...)His addle-brained knight-errant , self appointed to the ridiculous position in an age when armor had already been relegated to museums and the chivalrous code of knight-errantry had become a joke , is , as Cervantes no_doubt intended , a gaunt but gracious symbol of good , moving soberly and sincerely in a world of cynics , hypocrites and rogues . (Howard Nemerov, "Themes and Methods: The Early...)Piepsam is grotesque , a disturbing parody ; his end is ridiculous and trivial . Hieronymus , like Piepsam , makes his protest quite in_vain , and his rejection , though not fatal , is ridiculous and humiliating ; he is simply thrown_out of the shop by the porter . Related terms |
| 2 |
[ adjective ] completely devoid of wisdom or good sense
Examples "the absurd excuse that the dog ate his homework" "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" Used in print (Robert L. Duncan, The Voice of Strangers....)It was a ridiculous situation and Rector knew it , for Hino , frankly partisan , openly gregarious , would make a poor espionage_agent . (Hampton Stone, The Man Who Looked Death...)Even then , as you go_into the house oppressed by the knowledge that something_is_cooking and that your house has passed under this unaccountable , official control , could you go_on forgetting that you still had that ridiculous hat on your head and you were still carrying that childish horn in your hand ? Related terms |
| 3 | |
| * |
|