Standard Lemma guide

laughable

adj · 4 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

Australian: /ˈlaːfəbl̩/
UK: /ˈlɑːfəbl̩/
UK: /ˈlæfəbl̩/
Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
US: ˈlăfəbl̩
US: /ˈlæfəbl̩/
CMU ARPABET: L AE1 F AH0 B AH0 L Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

adj

Meaning 1

Fitted to excite laughter; humorous.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: archaic

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: comical, droll, risible, amusing, chucklesome, comedic, comic, filarious, frolicsome, funnisome, funny, gut-busting, hilarious, howlarious, humourful, humorous, hysterical, jocular, joculatory, jokes, jokesome, joky, laughable, laugh-out-loud, laughworthy, playful, priceless, rib-tickling, screaming, sidesplitting, sniggersome, tattyfilarious, thalian, thigh-slapping, uproarious, wacky, zany

Antonyms: none provided

adj

Meaning 2

Worthless; worthy of contempt or derision.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: derisible, pathetic, risible, abject, filthy, base, beggarly, blameworthy, carrion, cheap, choical, contemptible, cringing, damnable, dedecorous, degraded, deplorable, deridable, despicable, despisable, dirty, discreditable, disdainable, disgraceful, dishonorable, disreputable, execrable, groveling, hylic, hylical, ignoble, ignominious, inglorious, lame, laughable, loathsome, lousy, low, ludicrous, mean, mean-spirited, miserable, obscene, outrageous, paltry, pissass, pitiable, pitiful, plebeian, punk, putrid, reprehensible, reprehensive, reptile, reptilian, reptitious, ridiculous, roynish, scabbed, scald, scornworthy, scummy, scurvy, shabby, shameful, shit, sleazy, slavish, slimy, sordid, sorry, trashy, ugly, uncommendable, uncool, unmentionable, unwashed, unsophisticated, unworthy, vile, vulgar, weak, worthless, wretched

Antonyms: none provided

adjective satellite

Meaning 3

arousing or provoking laughter

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

an amusing film with a steady stream of pranks and pratfalls
an amusing fellow
a comic hat
a comical look of surprise
funny stories that made everybody laugh
a very funny writer
it would have been laughable if it hadn't hurt so much
a mirthful experience
risible courtroom antics

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: amusing, comic, comical, funny, mirthful, risible

Antonyms: none provided

adjective satellite

Meaning 4

incongruous;inviting ridicule

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

the absurd excuse that the dog ate his homework
that's a cockeyed idea
ask a nonsensical question and get a nonsensical answer
a contribution so small as to be laughable
it is ludicrous to call a cottage a mansion
a preposterous attempt to turn back the pages of history
her conceited assumption of universal interest in her rather dull children was ridiculous

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: absurd, cockeyed, derisory, idiotic, ludicrous, nonsensical, preposterous, ridiculous

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *klek- Proto-Germanic *hlahjaną Proto-West Germanic *hlahhjan Old English hliehhander. Old English hlæhhan Middle English laughen, laghen English laugh Proto-Indo-European *-tḗr Proto-Indo-European *-dhlom Proto-Indo-European *-dhlis Proto-Italic *-ðlis Latin -bilis Latin -ābilis Old French -ablebor. Middle English -able English -able English laughable From laugh + -able.

Across languages

Translations

53 source translations are retained for this English entry.

Belarusian: сме́шны (smjéšny) — fitted to excite laughter
Bulgarian: смешен (smešen) — fitted to excite laughter
Chinese Mandarin: 可笑 (kěxiào) — fitted to excite laughter
Cornish: hwarthus — fitted to excite laughter
Czech: směšný — fitted to excite laughter
Danish: latterlig — fitted to excite laughter
Danish: komisk — fitted to excite laughter
Dutch: belachelijk — fitted to excite laughter
Esperanto: ridinda — fitted to excite laughter
Finnish: huvittava — fitted to excite laughter
Finnish: naurattava — fitted to excite laughter
French: risible — fitted to excite laughter
German: lächerlich — fitted to excite laughter
German: lachhaft — fitted to excite laughter
Greek: γελοίος (geloíos) — fitted to excite laughter
Greek: αστείος (asteíos) — fitted to excite laughter
Ancient Greek: γελοῖος (geloîos) — fitted to excite laughter
Hindi: हास्यस्पद (hāsyaspad) — fitted to excite laughter
Hungarian: mulatságos — fitted to excite laughter
Icelandic: hlægilegur — fitted to excite laughter
Italian: ridicolo — fitted to excite laughter
Italian: risibile — fitted to excite laughter
Japanese: 可笑しい (okashii) — fitted to excite laughter
Japanese: 人笑わせ (hito-warawase) — fitted to excite laughter
Latin: rīdiculus — fitted to excite laughter
Luxembourgish: lächerlech — fitted to excite laughter
Papiamentu: ridíkulo — fitted to excite laughter
Plautdietsch: lachrich — fitted to excite laughter
Polish: śmieszny — fitted to excite laughter
Portuguese: ridículo — fitted to excite laughter
Portuguese: risível — fitted to excite laughter
Russian: смешно́й (smešnój) — fitted to excite laughter
Russian: смехотво́рный (smexotvórnyj) — fitted to excite laughter
Serbo-Croatian: smiješno — fitted to excite laughter
Serbo-Croatian: smešno — fitted to excite laughter
Serbo-Croatian: ridikulozno — fitted to excite laughter
Turkish: gülünç — fitted to excite laughter
Ukrainian: смішни́й (smišnýj) — fitted to excite laughter
Azerbaijani: gülünc — worthy of derision
Cornish: hwarthus — worthy of derision
French: risible — worthy of derision
French: ridicule — worthy of derision
German: lachhaft — worthy of derision
German: lächerlich — worthy of derision
German: zum Lachen — worthy of derision
Hungarian: nevetséges — worthy of derision
Latin: rīdiculus — worthy of derision
Plautdietsch: lachrich — worthy of derision
Serbo-Croatian: smiješno — worthy of derision
Serbo-Croatian: smešno — worthy of derision
Serbo-Croatian: ridikulozno — worthy of derision
Swedish: skrattretande — worthy of derision
Ukrainian: смішни́й (smišnýj) — worthy of derision

Word forms

Inflections and variants

more laughable — comparative
most laughable — superlative

Word family

Derived and related words

Derived: laughableness, laughably, unlaughable

Related: jocular, humorous, humourous, laugh, foolish

Semantic map

Other relationships

Sources

Where this information comes from

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Real reading context

Meaning relationships

Meaning relationships

Examples

Meaning relationships

Examples

Meaning relationships

laughable in complete knowledge articles