risible : Dictionary / Wörterbuch (BEOLINGUS, TU Chemnitz)

English Dictionary: risible	by the DICT Development Group
2 results for risible
From WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006) [wn]:
risible adj arousing or provoking laughter; "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" Synonym(s): amusing, comic, comical, funny, laughable, mirthful, risible
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]:
Risible \Ris"ible\, a. [F., fr. L. risibilis, fr. ridere, risum, to laugh. Cf. {Ridiculous}.] 1. Having the faculty or power of laughing; disposed to laugh. Laughing is our busines, . . . it has been made the definition of man that he is risible. --Dr. H. More. 2. Exciting laughter; worthy to be laughed at; amusing. [bd]Risible* absurdities.[b8] --Johnson. I hope you find nothing risible in my complaisance. --Sir W. Scott. 3. Used in, or expressing, laughter; as, risible muscles. Note: Risible is sometimes used as a noun, in the plural, for the feeling of amusement and for the muscles and other organs used in laughing, collectively; as, unable to control one's risibles. Syn: Ludicrous; laughable; amusing; ridiculous -- {Risible}, {Ludicrous}, {Ridiculous}. Usage: Risible differs from ludicrous as species from genus; ludicrous expressing that which is playful and sportive; risible, that which may excite laughter. Risible differs from ridiculous, as the latter implies something contemptuous, and risible does not.