ludicrous
/ˈluː.dɪ.kɹəs/adjective
ludicrous is spelled L-U-D-I-C-R-O-U-S: 9 letters and 3 syllables. It appears 2.2 times per million words in written English, the 18,537th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, ludicrous means “Idiotic or unthinkable, often to the point of being funny; amusing by being plainly incongruous or absurd” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in ludicrous?
| Letters | 9: L-U-D-I-C-R-O-U-S |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 2.2 times per million words; the 18,537th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is ludicrous?
Ludicrous appears 2.2 times per million words in written English, the 18,537th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce ludicrous?
- UK /ˈluː.dɪ.kɹəs/
- UK /ˈljuː.dɪ.kɹəs/
- US /ˈluː.dɪ.kɹəs/
Ludicrous has 3 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-uk-ludicrous.ogg, En-us-ludicrous.ogg, En-au-ludicrous.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of ludicrous
- more ludicrous comparative
- most ludicrous superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does ludicrous mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Idiotic or unthinkable, often to the point of being funny; amusing by being plainly incongruous or absurd.
He made a ludicrous attempt to run for office.
- 2
obsoletePlayful, fun, entertaining.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Ludicrous in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense idiotic or unthinkable, often to the point of being funny:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | absurde |
| German | aberwitzig, absurd, lächerlich |
| Portuguese | ridículo |
| Spanish | disparatado, descabellado, lúdicro, desmesurado, desmedido |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does ludicrous come from?
Learned borrowing from Latin lūdicrus. First attested in 1619.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).