I. rid ‧ i ‧ cule 1 /ˈrɪdəkjuːl, ˈrɪdɪkjuːl/ BrE AmE noun [uncountable]
[ Date: 1600-1700 ; Language: French ; Origin: Latin ridiculum 'something funny' , from ridere 'to laugh' ]
unkind laughter or remarks that are intended to make someone or something seem stupid:
the ridicule of his peers
The government’s proposals were held up to ridicule (=suffered ridicule) by opposition ministers.
He had become an object of ridicule among the other teachers.
II. ridicule 2 BrE AmE verb [transitive]
to laugh at a person, idea etc and say that they are stupid SYN mock :
At the time, his ideas were ridiculed.
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THESAURUS
▪ mock formal to laugh at and say unkind things about a person, institution, belief etc, to show that you do not have a high opinion of them. Mock is a formal word - in everyday English people usually say make fun of :
The press mocked his attempts to appeal to young voters.
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She was mocked by other pupils in her class.
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You shouldn’t mock the afflicted! (=you should not make fun of people who cannot help having problems - used especially ↑ ironically , when really you think it is funny too)
▪ make fun of somebody/something to make someone or something seem stupid by making unkind jokes about them:
Peter didn’t seem to realize that they were making fun of him.
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It used to be fashionable to make fun of the European Parliament.
▪ laugh at somebody/something to make unkind or funny remarks about someone or something, because they seem stupid or strange:
I don’t want the other kids to laugh at me.
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People would laugh at the idea nowadays.
▪ poke fun at somebody/something to make someone or something seem silly by making jokes about them, especially in a way that is funny but not really cruel:
a TV series that regularly poked fun at the government
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He’s in no position to poke fun at other people’s use of English!
▪ ridicule formal to make unkind remarks that make someone or something seem stupid:
Catesby ridiculed his suggestion.
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His ideas were widely ridiculed at the time.
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Scientists ridiculed him for doubting the existence of the greenhouse effect.
▪ deride formal to make remarks that show you think that something is stupid or useless - often used when you think that the people who do this are wrong:
Some forms of alternative medicine – much derided by doctors – have been shown to help patients.
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the system that Marxists previously derided as ‘bourgeois democracy’