preposterous

adjective

pre·​pos·​ter·​ous pri-ˈpä-st(ə-)rəs 

: contrary to nature, reason, or common sense : absurd

preposterously adverb

preposterousness noun

Synonyms

• absurd
• bizarre
• crazy
• fanciful
• fantastic
• fantastical
• foolish
• insane
• nonsensical
• unreal
• wild

Examples of preposterous in a Sentence

The whole idea is preposterous!

the idea that extraterrestrials built the pyramids is preposterous

Recent Examples on the Web

Scarcity led to preposterous prices: tomatoes cost ninety-six dollars a pound. —Dorothy Wickenden, The New Yorker, 28 Oct. 2024

There are some truly wonderful laugh-out-loud moments to be had throughout, though the fact that, much like the German filmmaker’s previous movie, this preposterous bit of Popesploitation is somehow being positioned as Oscar material may be the funniest part of it all. —David Fear, Rolling Stone, 25 Oct. 2024

If the average rent in Manhattan exceeds $4,000, renters could be paying over $7,000 just for viewing a property—this, to me, feels utterly preposterous. —Rodolfo Delgado, Forbes, 24 Oct. 2024

Advertisement The lawsuit called the allegations against Miller preposterous. —Noah Goldberg, Los Angeles Times, 16 Oct. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Latin praeposterus, literally, in the wrong order, from prae- + posterus hinder, following — more at posterior

First Known Use

1533, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

preposterous

adjective

pre·​pos·​ter·​ous pri-ˈpäs-t(ə-)rəs 

: making little or no sense : absurd

preposterously adverb

preposterousness noun

Etymology

from Latin praeposterus, literally, "having the rear part in front," from prae- "in front, before" and posterus "coming behind, following"

Word Origin

The familiar expression "putting the cart before the horse" comes very close to the literal sense of the word preposterous. The Romans formed their Latin adjective praeposterus from prae-, meaning "before," and posterus, meaning "following." They at first used it to mean "having that first which ought to be last," like having a cart ahead of the horse that is pulling it. Praeposterus was used to describe something that was out of the normal or logical order or position. From this developed the more general sense of "ridiculous, absurd." These meanings were borrowed into English in the 16th century. Although preposterous is seldom used in its literal sense nowadays, we still use it to describe something that seems so unreasonable as to be ridiculous.