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From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
Ludicrous \Lu"di*crous\, adjective [L. ludicrus, or ludicer, from ludus play, sport, fr. ludere to play.]
1. Adapted to excite laughter, without scorn or contempt; sportive. --Broome.
A chapter upon German rhetoric would be in the same ludicrous predicament as Van Troil's chapter on the snakes of Iceland, which delivers its business in one summary sentence, announcing, that snakes in Iceland -- there are none. --De Quincey.
2. Ridiculously absurd. [PJC]
Syn: Laughable; sportive; burlesque; comic; droll; ridiculous.
Usage: {Ludicrous}, {Laughable}, {Ridiculous}. We speak of a thing as ludicrous when it tends to produce laughter; as laughable when the impression is somewhat stronger; as ridiculous when more or less contempt is mingled with the merriment created. -- {Lu"di*crous*ly}, adverb -- {Lu"di*crous*ness}, noun
From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:
ludicrous
adjective
1: broadly or extravagantly humorous; resembling farce; "the wild farcical exuberance of a clown"; "ludicrous green hair" [syn: {farcical}, {ridiculous}]
2: completely devoid of wisdom or good sense; "the absurd excuse that the dog ate his homework"; "that's a cockeyed idea"; "ask a nonsensical question and get a nonsensical answer"; "a contribution so small as to be laughable"; "it is ludicrous to call a cottage a mansion"; "a preposterous attempt to turn back the pages of history"; "her conceited assumption of universal interest in her rather dull children was ridiculous" [syn: {absurd}, {cockeyed}, {derisory}, {idiotic}, {laughable}, {nonsensical}, {preposterous}, {ridiculous}]
From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:
41 Moby Thesaurus words for "ludicrous": absurd, amusing, antic, beyond belief, bizarre, cockamamie, comic, comical, crazy, droll, eccentric, extravagant, fantastic, farcical, foolish, funny, grotesque, high-flown, hilarious, humorous, incongruous, incredible, laughable, monstrous, nonsensical, outrageous, outre, poppycockish, preposterous, priceless, quaint, quizzical, rich, ridiculous, risible, screaming, silly, weird, whimsical, wild, witty
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