risible

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for May 4, 2025 is: risible \RIZZ-uh-bul\ adjective Risible is a formal word used disapprovingly to describe things that deserve to be mocked or laughed at because they are absurd or unreasonable. // Although the teachers derided the students’ slang as risible nonsense, the same had been said about their own generation’s lingo. [See the entry >](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/risible) Examples: "Smartwatches and smartphones are banned in my children’s schools during the school day, which I’m very happy about; I find any argument for allowing these devices in the classroom to be risible." — Jessica Grose, The New York Times, 27 Mar. 2024 Did you know? Say “cheese”! Now say thank you to the [risorius](https://www.merriam-webster.com/medical/risorius) muscles near the corners of your mouth for helping you smile. You might find this exercise a bit ridiculous—risible, even—but we’re here to explain that there is no need for [derision](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/derision); it’s for a wordy reason. Risible, ridiculous, derision, and risorius all come from the Latin verb ridēre, meaning “to laugh.” This etymology helps make the meaning of risible clear; something is described as risible (such as saying “cheese” out loud to yourself while looking at your phone/computer) when it arouses or provokes laughter. But just as its synonym [laughable](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/laughable) often describes things deserving not just of laughter but of eye-rolling scorn, risible is frequently applied to that which merits both sneer and chortle, scoff and guffaw. Words are funny like that.