ridicule

[rid-i-kyool] /ˈrɪd ɪˌkyul/
noun
1.
speech or action intended to cause contemptuous laughter at a person or thing; derision.
verb (used with object), ridiculed, ridiculing.
2.
to deride; make fun of.
Origin
1665-75; < Latin rīdiculum a joke, equivalent to rīd(ēre) to laugh + -i- -i- + -culum -cule2
Related forms
ridiculer, noun
self-ridicule, noun
unridiculed, adjective
Synonyms
1. mockery, raillery, sarcasm, satire, irony. 2. banter, chaff, rally, twit, burlesque, satirize, lampoon. Ridicule, deride, mock, taunt imply making game of a person, usually in an unkind, jeering way. To ridicule is to make fun of, either sportively and good-humoredly, or unkindly with the intention of humiliating: to ridicule a pretentious person. To deride is to assail one with scornful laughter: to deride a statement of belief. To mock is sometimes playfully, sometimes insultingly, to imitate and caricature the appearance or actions of another: She mocked the seriousness of his expression. To taunt is to call attention to something annoying or humiliating, usually maliciously and exultingly and often in the presence of others: to taunt a candidate about his defeat in an election.
Antonyms
praise.
Examples from the web for ridicule
  • The entire crew should be flushed from the public sphere by laughter and ridicule.
  • The dinosaur's relatively minuscule arms are a near-constant source of ridicule.
  • No matter how much the great unwashed ridicule the situation.
  • But far be it for me to ridicule science when it is based on observable facts and replicable evidence.
  • ridicule should play no part in the practice of scientific inquiry.
  • Surely they can't ridicule you for education that is geared to a non-existing job market.
  • It is a clever article that uses ridicule to avoid an actual debate.
  • It is a ridiculous supposition, and therefore a bit of ridicule is called for.
  • They do latch on to any evidence of disagreement or ridicule among the advocates of global warming being a problem.
  • Oh look, the appeal to ridicule fallacy rears its ugly head, among many other fallacies in this irrational comment.
British Dictionary definitions for ridicule

ridicule

/ˈrɪdɪˌkjuːl/
noun
1.
language or behaviour intended to humiliate or mock; derision
verb
2.
(transitive) to make fun of, mock, or deride
Derived Forms
ridiculer, noun
Word Origin
C17: from French, from Latin rīdiculus, from rīdēre to laugh
Word Origin and History for ridicule
v.

1680s, "make ridiculous," from ridicule (n.) or else from French ridiculer, from ridicule. Meaning "make fun of" is from c.1700. Related: Ridiculed; ridiculing.

n.

1670s, "absurd thing;" 1680s, "words or actions meant to invoke ridicule," from French ridicule, noun use of adjective (15c.), or from Latin ridiculum "laughing matter, joke," from noun use of neuter of ridiculus (see ridiculous).

"He who brings ridicule to bear against truth, finds in his hand a blade without a hilt." [Walter Savage Landor, "Imaginary Conversations"]