ri ‧ dic ‧ u ‧ lous S2 /rɪˈdɪkjələs, rɪˈdɪkjʊləs/ BrE AmE adjective
very silly or unreasonable:
That’s a ridiculous idea!
Don’t be ridiculous!
I’d look ridiculous in a dress like that.
absolutely/totally/utterly ridiculous
It’s an absolutely ridiculous decision.
it is ridiculous that
It’s ridiculous that we have to wait six weeks.
—ridiculously adverb :
a ridiculously expensive jacket
ridiculously low prices
—ridiculousness noun [uncountable]
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COLLOCATIONS
■ adverbs
▪ absolutely/utterly ridiculous
You look absolutely ridiculous in that short skirt.
▪ quite ridiculous (=completely ridiculous)
I thought his behaviour was quite ridiculous.
▪ totally ridiculous
The idea is totally ridiculous.
▪ slightly ridiculous
Andrew felt slightly ridiculous carrying the dog.
▪ faintly ridiculous (=slightly ridiculous)
Her urge to run away seemed faintly ridiculous now.
▪ patently ridiculous (=obviously ridiculous)
Her excuse was patently ridiculous.
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THESAURUS
■ very stupid
▪ crazy not at all sensible or reasonable – used when you are very surprised by someone’s behaviour or what they have said:
Ian’s got some crazy plan to drive across Africa.
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She looked at me as if I was crazy!
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You’re crazy to think of hitch-hiking on your own.
▪ ridiculous extremely stupid:
You look ridiculous in that hat.
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Some people spend a ridiculous amount of money on cars.
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It’s absolutely ridiculous to suggest that he would do something like that.
▪ absurd/ludicrous extremely stupid – used especially when an idea or situation seems strange or illogical:
How can a return ticket cost less than a single? It’s totally absurd!
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It was a ludicrous idea.
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Some of the objections to the theory are simply absurd.
▪ laughable so stupid that you cannot believe someone is telling the truth or being serious:
The accusations were almost laughable.
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a laughable suggestion
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It would be laughable if it wasn’t so serious.