What does risibility mean?
Risibility is a formal noun with two closely related uses. It can denote the quality of a person, situation, or work being laughable or ridiculous, especially when its absurdity is harmless or amusing. It can also describe a person's inclination or capacity to laugh and be entertained. The phrase “appeal to someone's risibility,” for example, means that something is likely to provoke laughter or amusement, while “a sense of risibility” can refer either to a person's ready sense of humor or to the comic character of something. The word is now unusual and sounds literary or deliberately elevated, so ordinary speakers are more likely to say “sense of humor,” “tenderness,” or “laughability.” Its distinctive value lies in naming amusement itself as a quality that can be appealed to or perceived, rather than merely describing a humorous person.
nounThe quality of being laughable or ridiculous; also, a person's tendency or capacity to laugh or be amused.
- The quality of being laughable, absurd, or ridiculous.
- A person's tendency, inclination, or capacity to laugh or be amused.
"The absurdity of the situation appealed to her risibility."
"The comic novel has been praised for its warmth and its gentle appeal to the reader's risibility."
"They doubted his risibility when he refused to laugh at the elaborate prank."
Normally used in the singular; the plural is grammatically regular but rare.
"The stories explore different kinds of human risibilities."
A rare formal word for the ability to laugh at something, risibility treats the capacity for amusement as a subject all its own.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does risibility come from?
Risibility was formed in English by adding the suffix -ity to ridiculous. Ridiculous came through French from Latin ridiculus, a derivative of ridere, “to laugh.” The modern noun thus literally expresses the quality or capacity associated with being ridiculous or laughable.
How risibility is actually used
Formal, literary, and uncommon in contemporary English. It often sounds deliberately elevated or old-fashioned.
Easily confused with risibility
Ridiculous is an adjective describing something absurd or laughable, whereas risibility is a noun naming the quality of being laughable or a person's tendency to laugh.
Visibility concerns how easily something can be seen or noticed, while risibility concerns whether something is laughable or a person is inclined to laugh.