Ridiculous means so silly, absurd, or unreasonable that it deserves to be laughed at or mocked. When something is ridiculous, it's beyond just funny: it's so over-the-top or nonsensical that you can barely believe it's real.

If your friend claimed they could jump over the school building, that would be a ridiculous statement. If a rule required everyone to wear socks on their hands during class, that would be a ridiculous rule. The word captures that feeling when something is so far from making sense that it becomes almost comical.

Calling something ridiculous usually means you think it shouldn't be taken seriously. A ridiculous price might be $500 for a pencil. A ridiculous excuse might be “My homework was eaten by a spaceship.” Sometimes people act in ridiculous ways when they're trying too hard to impress others or when they've lost perspective on what's reasonable.

When you call something ridiculous, you're essentially saying it's worthy of being laughed at. Calling someone's ideas or behavior ridiculous can hurt their feelings, so think about whether something is truly absurd or just different from what you expected, and choose your words carefully.