Dictionary
Thesaurus
Reference
Translate
Web
Related Searches
on Ask.com
Synonyms
Nearby Entries
risible - 4 dictionary results

ris⋅i⋅ble

  [riz-uh-buhl]
Use risible in a Sentence
–adjective
1. causing or capable of causing laughter; laughable; ludicrous.
2. having the ability, disposition, or readiness to laugh.
3. pertaining to or connected with laughing.
Origin:
1550–60; < LL rīsibilis that can laugh, equiv. to L rīs(us) (ptp. of rīdēre to laugh) + -ibilis -ible

Synonyms:
1. funny, humorous, comical.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To risible
ris·i·ble   (rĭz'ə-bəl)   
adj.  
  1. Relating to laughter or used in eliciting laughter.
  2. Eliciting laughter; ludicrous.
  3. Capable of laughing or inclined to laugh.

[Late Latin rīsibilis, from Latin rīsus, past participle of rīdēre, to laugh.]
ris'i·bly adv.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source

Risible

Ris"i*ble\, a. [F., fr. L. risibilis, fr. ridere, risum, to laugh. Cf. Ridiculous.]

1. Having the faculty or power of laughing; disposed to laugh.

Laughing is our busines, . . . it has been made the definition of man that he is risible. --Dr. H. More.

2. Exciting laughter; worthy to be laughed at; amusing. "Risible absurdities." --Johnson.

I hope you find nothing risible in my complaisance. --Sir W. Scott.

3. Used in, or expressing, laughter; as, risible muscles.

Note: Risible is sometimes used as a noun, in the plural, for the feeling of amusement and for the muscles and other organs used in laughing, collectively; as, unable to control one's risibles.

Syn: Ludicrous; laughable; amusing; ridiculous -- Risible, Ludicrous, Ridiculous.

Usage: Risible differs from ludicrous as species from genus; ludicrous expressing that which is playful and sportive; risible, that which may excite laughter. Risible differs from ridiculous, as the latter implies something contemptuous, and risible does not. --Ris"i*ble*ness, n. -- Ris"i*bly, adv.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
Cite This Source
Language Translation for : risible
Spanish: rídiculo, irrisible,
German: lächerlich,
Japanese: ばかばかしい
More Translations »

risible 
1557, "given to laughter," from L.L. risibilis "laughable, able to laugh," from L. risus, pp. of ridere "to laugh." Meaning "capable of exciting laughter, comical" is from 1727.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
Cite This Source
Search another word or see risible on Thesaurus | Reference