different between unreasonable vs ludicrous

English

Etymology

From un- +? reason +? -able.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?n??i?z(?)n?bl?/
• Hyphenation: un?rea?son?able

Adjective

unreasonable (comparative more unreasonable, superlative most unreasonable)

1. Without the ability to reason; unreasoning.
   • c. 1594, William Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet, Act III, Scene 3,^[1]

     Hold thy desperate hand:

     Art thou a man? thy form cries out thou art:

     Thy tears are womanish; thy wild acts denote

     The unreasonable fury of a beast:

     Unseemly woman in a seeming man!

2. Not reasonable; going beyond what could be expected or asked for.
   • 1611, King James Version of the Bible, Acts 25:27,^[2]

     For it seemeth to me unreasonable to send a prisoner, and not withal to signify the crimes laid against him.

   • 1792, Mary Wollstonecraft, A Vindication of the Rights of Woman, Chapter 11,^[3]

     The will of those who never allow their will to be disputed, unless they happen to be in a good humour, when they relax proportionally, is almost always unreasonable.

   Antonym: reasonable

Derived terms

• unreasonableness
• unreasonably

Translations

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