different between inane vs ludicrous

English

Etymology

From Middle French inane, from Latin in?nis (“empty, vain, useless”) which is of unknown origin.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /??ne?n/
• Rhymes: -e?n

Adjective

inane (comparative inaner or more inane, superlative inanest or most inane)

1. Lacking sense or meaning (often to the point of boredom or annoyance)

   (lacking sense): Synonyms: silly, fatuous, vapid

2. Purposeless; pointless
   • 1832, Isaac Taylor, Saturday Evening

     Vague and inane instincts.

Derived terms

Translations

Noun

inane (plural inanes)

1. That which is void or empty.

   • The undistinguishable inane of infinite space.

   • 1881, Robert Louis Stevenson, Virginibus Puerisque:

     [...] whom we watch as we watch the clouds careering in the windy, bottomless inane, or read about like characters in ancient and rather fabulous annals.

Anagrams

• -anine, Annie, nenia

Italian

Etymology

From Latin in?nis.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /i?na.ne/
• Hyphenation: i?nà?ne

Adjective

inane (plural inani) (literary)

1. (rare) empty, void, hollow

   Synonyms: (literary) vacuo, vuoto

   Antonyms: colmo, pieno

2. useless, vain, inane

   Synonyms: inconcludente, infruttuoso, inutile, (literary) irrito, vano

   Antonym: utile

Derived terms

• inanità

Anagrams

• nenia

References

• inane in Treccani.it – Vocabolario Treccani on line, Istituto dell'Enciclopedia Italiana

Latin

Adjective

in?ne

1. nominative neuter singular of in?nis
2. accusative neuter singular of in?nis
3. vocative neuter singular of in?nis

References

• inane in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• inane in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré Latin-Français, Hachette
• Carl Meissner; Henry William Auden (1894) Latin Phrase-Book?^[1], London: Macmillan and Co.

Portuguese

Etymology

From Latin in?nis.

Adjective

inane m or f (plural inanes, comparable)

1. inane (lacking sense or meaning)

   Synonyms: vão, vazio, fútil

Related terms

• inanição

Spanish

Etymology

From Latin in?nis.

Adjective

inane (plural inanes)

1. inane; pointless

English

Etymology

First attested in 1619. From Latin l?dicrus, from l?d? (“play”).

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /?lu?.d?.k??s/, /?lju?.d?.k??s/
• (US) IPA^(key): /?lu?.d?.k??s/

Adjective

ludicrous (comparative more ludicrous, superlative most ludicrous)

1. Idiotic or unthinkable, often to the point of being funny.

2. Amusing by being plainly incongruous or absurd.
   • 2014, Paul Doyle, "Southampton hammer eight past hapless Sunderland in barmy encounter", The Guardian, 18 October 2014:

     Five minutes later, Southampton tried to mount their first attack, but Wickham sabotaged the move by tripping the rampaging Nathaniel Clyne, prompting the referee, Andre Marriner, to issue a yellow card. That was a lone blemish on an otherwise tidy start by Poyet’s team – until, that is, the 12th minute, when Vergini produced a candidate for the most ludicrous own goal in Premier League history.

Synonyms

• (idiotic or unthinkable): laughable, ridiculous, risible

Related terms

• (idiotic or unthinkable): ludicrously, ludicrousness

Translations