Hypertext Webster Gateway: "ludicrous"
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Ludicrous \Lu"di*crous\, a. [L. ludicrus, or ludicer, from ludus
play, sport, fr. ludere to play.]
Adapted to excite laughter, without scorn or contempt;
sportive. --Broome.
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.
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.
From WordNet (r) 1.7 (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"; "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}, {derisory}, {laughable}, {nonsensical},
{preposterous}, {ridiculous}]
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