laughable

C2+ Topic:Describing Qualities

US /ˈlæfəbəl/ UK /ˈlɑːfəbəl/ See IPA manual

adj

Meanings

1

adj
so ridiculous as to be amusing; absurd

The excuse he offered was frankly laughable.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 adj · so ridiculous as to be... ridiculous absurd ludicrous risible preposterous comical farcical

Opposites

serious solemn grave sensible

Word family

Derived forms laughablylaughableness

Related forms laugh laughter laughing

Etymology

From laugh (Old English hlæhhan, of imitative origin) + the suffix -able. The verb descends from Proto-Germanic *hlahjaną.

hlæhhan Old English *hlahjaną Proto-Germanic

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Describing Qualities Word Formation & Derivatives

# laughable

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** adj
**IPA (US):** ˈlæfəbəl
**IPA (UK):** ˈlɑːfəbəl

## Meanings
1. so ridiculous as to be amusing; absurd

## Examples
- The excuse he offered was frankly laughable.

## Synonyms
- ridiculous
- absurd
- ludicrous
- risible
- preposterous
- comical
- farcical

## Antonyms
- serious
- solemn
- grave
- sensible

## Derived Forms
- laughably
- laughableness

## Related Forms
- laugh
- laughter
- laughing

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: hlæhhan
- Root: *hlahjaną

## Etymology
From laugh (Old English hlæhhan, of imitative origin) + the suffix -able. The verb descends from Proto-Germanic *hlahjaną.

## AI Etymology
Laughable is from laugh (Old English hlæhhan, of imitative origin) + the suffix -able. The verb descends from Proto-Germanic *hlahjaną. Important recorded forms include hlæhhan (Old English) and *hlahjaną (Proto-Germanic). Morphologically, the word is a built form whose named elements carry part of the historical sense. The current sense covers so ridiculous as to be amusing; absurd. The wider family includes derived forms such as laughably and laughableness and related words such as laugh, laughter, and laughing.

## Topics
- Describing Qualities
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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