What's the difference between laughable and ludicrous?

Laughable


Definition:

  • (a.) Fitted to excite laughter; as, a laughable story; a laughable scene.

Example Sentences:

  • (1) But yesterday the Tories said the move was laughable as the number of quangos had risen dramatically since Labour came to power in 1997, despite a promise by Gordon Brown in opposition of a "bonfire of the quangos".
  • (2) The finishing today as been laughable from both sides.
  • (3) The idea of having a nice glass of milk and a bath to help me sleep would be laughable.
  • (4) Yet, there is no doubt that All Star has been targeted for its specific qualities – the main ones being its feelgood nostalgia value and a laughably exuberant pop-punk style that feels totally earnest.
  • (5) After referring to Salmond's previous role as a horse racing tipster for the News of the World when Brooks was editor, Gray said: "SNP claims that these meetings were to promote Scotland are laughable as it is clear they were all about promoting Alex Salmond and the SNP."
  • (6) Such a charge would be laughable if it weren't so cynical and irresponsible.
  • (7) The renewed debate on the nation’s constitutional future has led to some laughable abjurations from both sides.
  • (8) As for Hillary Clinton's intervention , suggesting in effect that Britain take lessons in value for money from the Pentagon, it is laughable.
  • (9) For those filling the streets of Moqattam, or the hundreds recreating the Harlem Shake in the same place last month, or the thousands who embarked on a campaign of civil disobedience in Port Said, the idea is laughable.
  • (10) The idea that New Labour or Blairism is or was social democratic is laughable.
  • (11) He says the BBC director general Mark Thompson's budget cuts "have cut flesh as well as fat" from BBC Radio, which he says is "laughably underfunded".
  • (12) Claudio Ranieri Leicester City manager A year ago his candidacy would have felt laughable given he had just lost to the Faroe Islands during a four-game spell with Greece.
  • (13) North Korea has demanded the US recognise it as a “legitimate nuclear weapons state” following its fifth and largest atomic test, adding that threats of further sanctions against the country were “laughable”.
  • (14) The case – and the laughable lack of scientific evidence for their claims – has been covered by every newspaper in the country.
  • (15) Such talk would have been laughable in the days when the US capital was dominated by one trade – politics – plagued by crime, and bitterly divided by class and race.
  • (16) But those who find Europe laughable, they must be countered, because Europe is not a lightweight.
  • (17) He told the Russian state news agency RIA Novosti that he was "extremely proud" of his inclusion on the list, adding that the sanctions were laughable.
  • (18) "It's absolutely laughable," said a senior government source.
  • (19) And Comey’s call for “clarity and transparency” surrounding the surveillance process wouldn’t be so laughable if the FBI wasn’t aggressively trying to hide it’s all surveillance capabilities from the public, making law enforcement sign non-disclosure agreements as they hand out invasive new spying technology, and refusing to even tell count how many times they’ve searched through the NSA’s massive databases for Americans without a warrant.
  • (20) "Within the context of record graduate unemployment and student debt, it seems laughable that university leaders are hoping for higher fees and pressing for cuts in student support."

Ludicrous


Definition:

  • (a.) Adapted to excite laughter, without scorn or contempt; sportive.

Example Sentences:

  • (1) The mayor of London had said in a Twitter exchange in July that it was a “ludicrous urban myth” that Britain’s premier shopping street was one of the world’s most polluted thoroughfares, saying that the capital’s air quality was “better than Paris and other European cities”.
  • (2) America is made up of immigrants and to shut the doors to others is just ludicrous.
  • (3) Whitson also had strong words for Missouri Governor Jay Nixon , who has called for the “vigorous prosecution” of Wilson, calling such comments “ludicrous” and contrary to the spirit of “innocent until proven guilty”.
  • (4) Stand by Trumpenstein, as some are now doing, and you risk seeming to endorse his ideas, statements and ludicrous antics.
  • (5) The very idea that meaningful reform of the NSA will come out of this annexed, captured, corrupted Committee is ludicrous on its face.
  • (6) In this atmosphere, Richardson's evocation of Rwanda, while extreme, is not entirely ludicrous.
  • (7) "It's ludicrous that Caroline should be Pat's boss", a rival agent tells me.
  • (8) The Balakrishnan group's beliefs were mocked in the diary column of the Times, prompting speculation that it may have been a partial model for the Tooting Popular Front, the ludicrous political movement in Citizen Smith, the BBC sitcom, which began in 1977.
  • (9) It was intended, according to its creator, as a “warning to America”, a horrifying and fantastical vision of the future in which the US – ludicrously – had elected as its president Donald Trump .
  • (10) Sir Malcolm Rifkind, the Tory group's honorary president , defended the launch and said it would be ludicrous to cut off contact with Russian officials.
  • (11) Binyamin Netanyahu’s recent outburst about the grand mufti and the Holocaust would be ludicrous if it hadn’t been so utterly ill judged.
  • (12) The railway staff left to pick up the pieces are being set up as scapegoats with ludicrous claims about Spanish practices and out-of-control pay, but our members have already been paying with their jobs as the privateers ditch frontline staff to maintain profits.
  • (13) Former Coronation Street actor Sarah Lancashire has hit out at the "ludicrous prejudice" held against soap stars by some writers and producers in the TV industry.
  • (14) He acknowledged his own salary might seem "ludicrous" to MPs but insisted it was "similar to peers in other organisations around the world".
  • (15) A botched job, on its own, narrow terms, AQA's list – launched in the week in which British readers and the national press has been mourning the death of Maya Angelou – is even more ludicrous and ill-conceived when placed in a wider context.
  • (16) ITF’s silence over Maria Sharapova’s confession does nothing for integrity Read more Relentless, high-octane, year-round sports place ludicrous demands on star athletes.
  • (17) Yet, the current proposal appears aimed at ludicrously legislating the economic cycle and creating ever higher fixed salaries and perks for those leading the largest banks.
  • (18) Questions have been asked about the close relationship between development studios and games critics – sometimes to a ludicrous extent, with charts and diagrams posted online showing the connections between key figures.
  • (19) "To suggest that Lufthansa and Rolls-Royce do not have the expertise and experience to undertake the highest quality checks is ludicrous," he added.
  • (20) In that context, Haentjes’s decision to begin pressing records looked ludicrously sentimental.