ridiculous
/ɹɪˈdɪk.jə.ləs/adjective
ridiculous is spelled R-I-D-I-C-U-L-O-U-S: 10 letters and 4 syllables. It appears 29 times per million words in written English, the 3,218th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, ridiculous means “Deserving of ridicule; foolish, absurd” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in ridiculous?
| Letters | 10: R-I-D-I-C-U-L-O-U-S |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 4 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 29 times per million words; the 3,218th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with |
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); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is ridiculous?
Ridiculous appears 29 times per million words in written English, the 3,218th 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 ridiculous?
- UK /ɹɪˈdɪk.jʊ.ləs/
- UK /ɹiːˈdɪk.jʊ.ləs/
- US /ɹɪˈdɪk.jə.ləs/
Ridiculous has 4 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-us-ridiculous.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with ridiculous?
2 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as ridiculous from its last stressed vowel (/ɪkjələs/):
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of ridiculous
- more ridiculous comparative
- most ridiculous superlative
- rediculous
- radiculous
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does ridiculous mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Deserving of ridicule; foolish, absurd.
That hairstyle looks ridiculous.
- 2
informalAstonishing, extreme, unbelievable.
In a ridiculous feat of engineering, the team can calculate the difference in arrival time to within one-tenth of a nanosecond.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Ridiculous in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense foolish, absurd:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | ridicule |
| German | lächerlich |
| Portuguese | ridículo |
| Spanish | ridículo |
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 ridiculous come from?
Borrowed from Latin rīdiculus (“laughable, ridiculous”); Equivalent to ridicule + -ous.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).