Ridicule

How to spell ridicule

8 letters · 3 syllables

How to pronounce ridicule

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does ridicule mean?

1. verbTo mock someone or something with contemptuous, dismissive laughter.
2. nounContemptuous mockery or derision directed at a person or idea.

Ridicule in a sentence

• verb

  The panel began to ridicule his proposal before he had finished speaking.

• noun

  His outlandish theory was met with open ridicule at the conference.

• verb

  Critics continued to ridicule the company for its overpriced gadgets.

• noun

  She feared the ridicule of her peers if the plan failed.

Where does ridicule come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word traces back to the Latin ridiculum, meaning 'a joke' or 'a laughable thing', which itself grew from the adjective ridiculus 'laughable' and ultimately the verb ridere, meaning 'to laugh'. English adopted it in the early 1500s, partly through French ridicule, first as a noun for something absurd or worthy of laughter and soon afterwards as the act of holding someone up to mocking laughter. The same Latin ridere lies behind several relatives an adult will recognise: 'deride' (to laugh down at someone), 'derision', and the formal word 'risible' meaning laughable. The spelling keeps the Latin shape ridicul- almost intact, which is helpful to remember: it is rid-i-cule, with a single d and a single l, even though the unstressed middle vowels invite uncertainty.

How the word is built

• ridicul- (from Latin ridiculum: a laughable thing, from ridere: to laugh)
• -e