risible

adjective

ris·i·ble ˈri-zə-bəl

Synonyms of risible next

: capable of laughing

: disposed to laugh

: arousing or provoking laughter

especially : laughable

: associated with, relating to, or used in laughter

risible muscles

risibly

ˈri-zə-blē

adverb

Did you know?

If someone makes a ridiculous remark about your risible muscles, they are not necessarily deriding your physique. Risible can also mean "associated with laughter," so risible muscles can simply be the ones used for laughing. (You've also got a set of risorius muscles around your mouth that help you smile.) Next time you find something laughable, tip your hat to ridēre, the Latin verb meaning "to laugh" that gave us risible as well as ridiculous and deride.

Examples of risible in a Sentence

The suggestion was downright risible. a risible comment that made the whole class laugh

Recent Examples on the Web

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

He’s freed him to dismiss the idea that Jan. 6 was an insurrection, a notion Carlson treated as risible on Sunday. —

Michelle Goldberg, The Mercury News, 30 Oct. 2024 The notion that investors would wholly abandon the world’s second-largest economy is risible. —

Drew Bernstein, Forbes, 15 Oct. 2024 If that sounds risible to you, consider how rapidly the world had changed in the half-century before. —

Marina Bolotnikova, Vox, 7 Aug. 2024 That law enforcement is not able to more swiftly find Cooper amid a crowd of 3,000 men out of 20,000 people, believe it or not, starts to become a credibility-stretching albatross in the screenplay, but Shyamalan after all has to keep the risible aspects of the plot in ever forward motion. —

Ryan Lattanzio, IndieWire, 2 Aug. 2024 See all Example Sentences for risible