Origin: Latin suffix -ous
Ridiculous has 4 different meanings across 1 category:
inspiring scornful pity
"how silly an ardent and unsuccessful wooer can be especially if he is getting on in years"
so unreasonable as to invite derision
"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"
broadly or extravagantly humorous; resembling farce
"the wild farcical exuberance of a clown"
"ludicrous green hair"
Deserving of ridicule; foolish; absurd.
"The idea that we could finish the project in a single day was completely ridiculous."
In plain English: Ridiculous means something so silly, absurd, or extreme that it makes you laugh or seems impossible to believe.
"The traffic was so ridiculous that we arrived an hour late for our appointment."
The word ridicules comes from the Latin rīdiculus, which originally meant "laughable." It entered English as an adjective formed by adding a suffix to the verb related to mocking someone's appearance or behavior.