ridicule
Other forms: ridiculed; ridiculing; ridicules
When you ridicule someone, you mock or make fun of them. They become the object of your ridicule or mockery. Your bad behavior might bring ridicule on your parents, who raised you to know better.
The word ridicule is related to ridiculous. If you ridicule a friend, you try to make them look ridiculous. But now that isn't very friendly! Both words come from the Latin redire which means to laugh. When you are ridiculed, you are made a laughing stock, but being the object of ridicule is never funny.
Definitions of ridicule
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language or behavior intended to mock or humiliate
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type of:
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discourtesy, disrespect
an expression of lack of respect
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discourtesy, disrespect
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the act of deriding or treating with contempt
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synonyms:
derision
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types:
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mock
the act of mocking or ridiculing
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type of:
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discourtesy, offence, offense, offensive activity
a lack of politeness; a failure to show regard for others; wounding the feelings or others
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mock
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subject to laughter or ridicule“The satirists ridiculed the plans for a new opera house”
Pronunciation
US
/ˌrɪdɪˈkjul/
UK
/ˈrɪdɪkjul/
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Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Vocabulary.com or its editors.
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