
[French, from Latin rīdiculum, joke, from neuter of rīdiculus, laughable. See ridiculous.]
ridiculer rid'i·cul'er n.SYNONYMS ridicule, mock, taunt, twit, deride. These verbs refer to making another the butt of amusement or mirth. Ridicule implies purposeful disparagement: "My father discouraged me by ridiculing my performances" (Benjamin Franklin). To mock is to poke fun at someone, often by mimicking and caricaturing speech or actions: "Seldom he smiles, and smiles in such a sort/As if he mock'd himself, and scorn'd his spirit" (Shakespeare). Taunt suggests mocking, insulting, or scornful reproach: "taunting him with want of courage to leap into the great pit" (Daniel Defoe). To twit is to taunt by calling attention to something embarrassing: "The schoolmaster was twitted about the lady who threw him over" (J.M. Barrie). Deride implies scorn and contempt: "Was all the world in a conspiracy to deride his failure?" (Edith Wharton).
Definition: hateful laughing at someone or something
Antonyms: flattery, praise, respect
v
Definition: make nasty fun of something, someone
Antonyms: flatter, praise
n.
Words designed to show that the person of whom they are uttered is devoid of the dignity of character distinguishing him who utters them. It may be graphic, mimetic or merely rident. Shaftesbury is quoted as having pronounced it the test of truth -- a ridiculous assertion, for many a solemn fallacy has undergone centuries of ridicule with no abatement of its popular acceptance. What, for example, has been more valorously derided than the doctrine of Infant Respectability?
Quotes:
"One cannot be always laughing at a man without now and then stumbling on something witty."
- Jane Austen
"It is commonly said that ridicule is the best test of truth; for that it will not stick where it is not just. I deny it. A truth learned in a certain light, and attacked in certain words, by men of wit and humor, may, and often doth, become ridiculous, at least so far, that the truth is only remembered and repeated for the sake of the ridicule."
- Lord Chesterfield
"I believe they talked of me, for they laughed consumedly."
- George Farquhar
"Ridicule has always been the enemy of enthusiasm, and the only worthy opponent to ridicule is success."
- Oliver Goldsmith
"Oh that wisdom was half as zealous for converts as ridicule."
- Franz Grillparzer
"We grow tired of everything but turning others into ridicule, and congratulating ourselves on their defects."
- William Hazlitt
See more famous quotes about Ridicule

Dansk (Danish)
n. - latterliggørelse
v. tr. - latterliggøre
Nederlands (Dutch)
bespotten, bespotting
Français (French)
n. - ridicule, risée
v. tr. - ridiculiser, railler
Deutsch (German)
n. - Spott
v. - verspotten
Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - εμπαιγμός, χλεύη, κοροϊδία, περίγελος, γελοιοποίηση, (καθομ.) ρεζίλεμα, ρεντίκολο, σαρκασμός
v. - περιγελώ, χλευάζω, γελοιοποιώ
Italiano (Italian)
beffarsi di, ridicolizzare, farsi beffe di, scherno, ridicolo
Português (Portuguese)
n. - zombaria (f)
v. - ridicularizar
Русский (Russian)
высмеивать, высмеивание, насмешки
Español (Spanish)
n. - burla, irrisión
v. tr. - ridiculizar, poner en ridículo
Svenska (Swedish)
n. - åtlöje, löje
v. - förlöjliga
中文(简体)(Chinese (Simplified))
嘲笑, 笑柄, 愚弄, 嘲弄
中文(繁體)(Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 嘲笑, 笑柄, 愚弄
v. tr. - 嘲笑, 愚弄, 嘲弄
한국어 (Korean)
n. - 비웃음, 조롱거리
v. tr. - 비웃다, 조소하다
日本語 (Japanese)
n. - 嘲り
v. - 嘲笑う, 嘲笑する
العربيه (Arabic)
(الاسم) سخريه (فعل) يسخر من
עברית (Hebrew)
n. - לעג, צחוק
v. tr. - לעג ל-, צחק על
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