Risible

Part of speech: adjective

Pronunciation: /ˈɹɪzɪbəl/

Definitions

1. Evoking laughter or amusement through absurdity or ridiculousness can be described as having an ability to provoke humor
2. Provoking laughter due to its absurd nature is what characterizes something as being capable of humor that is both amusing and ridiculous
3. Able to make people laugh because of being silly or absurd

Etymology: The word "risible" carries its laughter in its bones: it is built from the Latin "rīsus," meaning "laughter," the noun that comes from "rīdēre," "to laugh." Latin added the suffix "-ibilis," which marks capacity, so something "rīsibilis" was capable of being laughed at or inclined to provoke laughter. The Latin form passed into French as "risible" and then into English, where it kept that sense of something fit for a laugh. The suffix does the work in English too. Words ending in "-ible" or "-able" typically describe what can be done to or what can do something, so "risible" describes the kind of thing that invites ridicule or amusement. Its meaning today is narrow and specific: a risible claim or performance is one so silly it is laughable, not merely funny. Those who met the word first in French or Latin would have recognised the same sense of "fit to provoke laughter."

Synonyms: laughable, comical, absurd, funny, ridiculous

Antonyms: serious, grave, solemn, sober, unfunny