Dictionary

preposterous en · ADJ

Pronunciation

• /pɹɪˈpɒstəɹəs/ (Received-Pronunciation)
• /pɹəˈpɑstəɹəs/ (General-American)
• /pɹəˈpɑstɹəs/ (General-American)
• /pɹə-/ (Received-Pronunciation)
• (US) audio
• /pɹɪˈpɒstɹəs/ (Received-Pronunciation)

Etymology

From Latin praeposterus (“with the hinder part before, reversed, inverted, perverted”), from prae (“before”) + posterus (“coming after”).

Meanings

1. Absurd, or contrary to common sense.
   • The preposterous altruism too! If a man takes your coat, give him your cloak. Resist not evil. It is an insane immolation of self—as bad intrinsically as fakirs stabbing themselves or anchorites warping their spines in caves scarcely large enough for a fair-sized dog. 1918, W[illiam] B[abington] Maxwell, chapter XXXIV, in The Mirror and the Lamp, Indianapolis, Ind.: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, →OCLC, page 266:
   • Democrats, too, must be criticised. While they have not made preposterous statements or been threatening or demagogic, they, all too often, have come up short, failing to propose new ideas that can help unwind conflicts raging across the Middle East. 2016 January 30, “America deserves more from presidential hopefuls”, in The National, retrieved 31 Jan 2016:
   • In the case of the misseltoe, which draws its nourishment from certain trees, which has seeds that must be transported by certain birds, and which has flowers with separate sexes absolutely requiring the agency of certain insects to bring pollen from one flower to the other, it is equally preposterous to account for the structure of this parasite, with its relations to several distinct organic beings, by the effects of external conditions, or of habit, or of the volition of the plant itself. 1859 November 24, Charles Darwin, “Introduction”, in On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, […], London: John Murray, […], →OCLC, page 3:
   • So I am to send Mrs. Churchill down to the very spot where a treasonable correspondence is most easily managed; and by the ease with which she gets out of a first scrape, give her all possible encouragement to get into another. Well, I was quite right in asking what preposterous request had you come here about! 1837, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], “An Audience”, in Ethel Churchill: Or, The Two Brides. […], volume II, London: Henry Colburn, […], →OCLC, page 257:
   • Leading the attack on the president's very citizenship is the professional vulgarian Donald Trump, who gets away with the kind of preposterous, race-based comments granted few black public figures. 2014 December 4, Timothy Egan, “A deficit of dignity”, in The New York Times:
   • [...] I did incounter that obſeene and moſt prepoſterous euent that draweth frõ my ſnowhite pen the ebon coloured Incke, which here thou vieweſt, beholdeſt, ſuruayeſt, or ſeeſt. [...] There did I ſee that low ſpirited Swaine, [...] hight Coſtard, (Clow[ne]. O mee) ſorted and conſorted contrary to thy eſtabliſhed proclaymed Edict and continent Cannon; Which with, o with, but with this I paſſion to ſay wherewith: / Clo[wne]. With a Wench. c. 1595–1596 (date written), W. Shakespere [i.e., William Shakespeare], A Pleasant Conceited Comedie Called, Loues Labors Lost. […] (First Quarto), London: […] W[illiam] W[hite] for Cut[h]bert Burby, published 1598, →OCLC, [Act I, scene i]:

Forms

Deriveds

unpreposterous · preposterosity · preposterously · preposterousness

Relateds

topsy-turvy · upside down

Synonyms

absurd · irrational · nonsensical · foolish

Translations (62)

ko 어처구니없다 (absurd, or contrary to common sense) · nl potsierlijk (absurd, or contrary to common sense) · hu esztelen (absurd, or contrary to common sense) · da meningsløs (absurd, or contrary to common sense) · yi אַבסורד (absurd, or contrary to common sense) · es descabellado (absurd, or contrary to common sense) · pt absurdo (absurd, or contrary to common sense) · hu képtelen (absurd, or contrary to common sense) · it insensato (absurd, or contrary to common sense) · ka აბსურდული (absurd, or contrary to common sense) · cs nesmyslný (absurd, or contrary to common sense) · it assurdo (absurd, or contrary to common sense) · hu abszurd (absurd, or contrary to common sense) · fi naurettava (absurd, or contrary to common sense) · cy afresymol (absurd, or contrary to common sense) · sk nezmyselný (absurd, or contrary to common sense) · sk absurdný (absurd, or contrary to common sense) · pl niedorzeczny (absurd, or contrary to common sense) · de grotesk (absurd, or contrary to common sense) · nl van de pot gerukt (absurd, or contrary to common sense) · fr aberrant (absurd, or contrary to common sense) · da absurd (absurd, or contrary to common sense) · es insensato (absurd, or contrary to common sense) · it irragionevole (absurd, or contrary to common sense) · pt insensato (absurd, or contrary to common sense) · nb meningsløs (absurd, or contrary to common sense) · sv grotesk (absurd, or contrary to common sense) · sk nemysliteľný (absurd, or contrary to common sense) · hu oktalan (absurd, or contrary to common sense) · sv befängd (absurd, or contrary to common sense) · fr insensé (absurd, or contrary to common sense) · bg абсурден (absurd, or contrary to common sense) · uk абсу́рдний (absurd, or contrary to common sense) · de unmöglich (absurd, or contrary to common sense) · bg нелеп (absurd, or contrary to common sense) · de unsagbar (absurd, or contrary to common sense) · nl grotesk (absurd, or contrary to common sense) · fr ridicule (absurd, or contrary to common sense) · fr absurde (absurd, or contrary to common sense) · fi järjetön (absurd, or contrary to common sense) · mg tsy mampino (absurd, or contrary to common sense) · sv bakvänd (absurd, or contrary to common sense) · mi haraki (absurd, or contrary to common sense) · cs absurdní (absurd, or contrary to common sense) · es prepóstero (absurd, or contrary to common sense) · ka უაზრო (absurd, or contrary to common sense) · ru неле́пый (absurd, or contrary to common sense) · hy աբսուրդ (absurd, or contrary to common sense) · uk нісені́тний (absurd, or contrary to common sense) · nb bakvendt (absurd, or contrary to common sense) · de unsäglich (absurd, or contrary to common sense) · de unerträglich (absurd, or contrary to common sense) · hy անհեթեթ (absurd, or contrary to common sense) · hu nevetséges (absurd, or contrary to common sense) · fi posketon (absurd, or contrary to common sense) · cs směšný (absurd, or contrary to common sense) · fi mieletön (absurd, or contrary to common sense) · is fáránlegur (absurd, or contrary to common sense) · uk безглу́здий (absurd, or contrary to common sense) · vi vô lý (absurd, or contrary to common sense) · cmn 荒謬的 /荒谬的 (absurd, or contrary to common sense) · ru абсу́рдный (absurd, or contrary to common sense)