It s collective ridicule.

Indeed, it is clear that ratings were ridiculously distorted.

It was an absurd thing to say, of course, in 1938, given the size of Europe s populations today. And it would be an equally ridiculous thing to say now, too.

The claim by many Israelis that there are no partners for peace is absurd.

Banning the light bulb because candle makers would lose their jobs strikes almost everyone as a silly idea.

It is even more ludicrous to extend the sovereignty notion to viruses that, like flu, can be carried across international borders by migratory birds.

In September 2012, Jeju is hosting the World Conservation Congress, which is totally ridiculous in light of what is happening in Gangjeong right now.

Oh, right. And my feeling is, asking me to talk about the future is bizarre, because I've got gray hair, and so, it's kind of silly for me to talk about the future.

Well, obviously not. It would be absurd if we were to engage again in the kind of operations we were engaged in, in Iraq and Afghanistan if we were to suddenly find ourselves in a situation in which we were imposing anything other than a democratic system.

To judge by Tsipras s belligerence, he firmly believes that Europe needs Greece as desperately as Greece needs Europe. This is the true absurdity in the present negotiations, and Tsipras misapprehension of his bargaining power now risks catastrophe for his country, humiliation for his Syriza party, or both.

Here, few students would condone blocking technological progress. Banning the light bulb because candle makers would lose their jobs strikes almost everyone as a silly idea.