ridicule

I

(New American Roget's College Thesaurus)

Derision

Nouns

1. ridicule, derision, scoffing, mockery, quiz, banter, irony, persiflage, raillery, chaff, badinage. See contempt.

2. parody, burlesque, travesty, farce, caricature, camp; buffoonery, practical joke. See wit.

3. ridiculousness, etc. (see absurdity).

4. sarcasm; squib, lampoon, satire, skit, quip, grin, leer; insult. Slang, Bronx cheer.

5. laughingstock, fool, object of ridicule, fair game, April fool, jest, joke, queer or odd fish, mockery, monkey, buffoon, caution. Slang, goat, gag. See folly.

Verbs

1. ridicule, deride, jeer; laugh, grin, or smile at, tease; snigger, snicker, scoff, banter, rally, chaff, joke, twit, gibe, rag, mock, tease, poke fun at, play tricks on, fool, show up; satirize, parody, caricature, lampoon, burlesque, travesty, make fun of, make game of, make a fool of. Informal, give a bad time. Slang, roast.

2. be ridiculous, play the fool, make a fool of oneself, commit an absurdity, raise a laugh. Slang, camp it up.

Adjectives — derisive, derisory, mock; sarcastic, cutting, facetious; ironical, quizzical, burlesque, satirical, scurrilous, base.

Quotations — He jests at scars that never felt a wound (Shakespeare), There is nothing so ridiculous but some philosopher has said it (Cicero), Ridicule is the best test of truth (Lord Chesterfield).

Antonyms, see respect.

II

(Roget's IV) n.

Syn. derision, mockery, scorn, contempt, disdain, jeer, leer, disparagement, sneer, rally, flout, fleer, twit, taunt, taunting, making fun of, poking fun, burlesque, caricature, satire, parody, travesty, irony, sarcasm, persiflage, chaff, raillery, badinage, farce, buffoonery, horseplay, foolery, needle*, razz*, rib*, ribbing*, joshing*, ragging*, roast*, raspberry*, horse laugh*.

Ant. praise*, commendation, approval.

v.

Syn. make fun of, deride, mock, taunt, gibe at, scoff at, sneer at, laugh at, point at, grin at, banter, mimic, jeer, tease, twit, chaff, disparage, belittle, flout, scorn, make sport of, poke fun at, fleer, rally, burlesque, caricature, show up, unmask, expose, satirize, parody, lampoon, cartoon, travesty, run down, make a laughing stock of, deflate, put down*, send up*, take off on*, josh*, rag*, razz*, rib*, guy*, ride*, give the Bronx cheer*, pull someone's leg*, point the finger of scorn, have a fling at*, roast*, pan*.

Ant. honor, approve*, applaud.

Syn.- ridicule implies making fun of someone or something but does not necessarily connote malice or hostility [ he ridiculed her attempts to speak Greek ] ; deride suggests scorn or malicious contempt in ridiculing [ to deride another's beliefs ] ; mock implies contemptuous ridiculing, esp. by caricaturing another's peculiarities [ it is cruel to mock his lisp ] ; taunt implies insulting ridicule and often an attempt to provoke, esp. by jeering and repeatedly calling attention to some humiliating fact [ they taunted him about his failure ]

III

(Roget's 3 Superthesaurus)

I

n.

mocking, joking, taunting, teasing, making fun of, derision, poking fun at, laughter, needling, caricature, sarcasm. ''The fume of little hearts.''—Alfred Lord Tennyson. ''These paper bullets of the brain.''—Shakespeare. ''The weapon of those who have no other.''—Hubert Pierlot.

ANT.: honor, veneration, respect, homage. see joke

II

v.

make fun of, laugh at, poke fun at, mock, make the butt of a joke, taunt, tease, deride, needle, caricature, belittle, lampoon, roast.

ANT.: honor, venerate, respect, pay homage to

IV

(Roget's Thesaurus II) I noun Words or actions intended to evoke contemptuous laughter: derision, mockery. See LAUGHTER, RESPECT. II verb To make fun or make fun of: deride, gibe, jeer, jest, laugh, mock, scoff, scout2, twit. Chiefly British: quiz. Idiom: poke fun at. See LAUGHTER, RESPECT.