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Webster 1913 Edition


Preposterous

Pre-pos′ter-ous

,
Adj.
[L.
praeposterus
;
prae
before +
posterus
coming after, latter. See
Posterior
.]
1.
Having that first which ought to be last; inverted in order.
[Obs.]
The method I take may be censured as
preposterous
, because I thus treat last of the antediluvian earth, which was first in the order of nature.
Woodward.
2.
Contrary to nature or reason; not adapted to the end; utterly and glaringly foolish; unreasonably absurd; perverted.
“Most preposterous conclusions.”
Shak.
Preposterous
ass, that never read so far!
Shakespeare
Syn. – Absurd; perverted; wrong; irrational; foolish; monstrous. See
Absurd
.
Pre-pos′ter-ous-ly
,
adv.
-
Pre-pos′ter-ous-ness
,
Noun.

Webster 1828 Edition


Preposterous

PREPOS'TEROUS

,
Adj.
[L. proeposterus; proe, before,and posterus, latter.]
1.
Literally, having that first which ought to be last; inverted in order.
The method I take may be censured as preposterous, because I treat last of the antediluvian earth, which was first in the order of nature.
2.
Perverted; wrong; absurd; contrary to nature or reason; not adapted to the end; as, a republican government in the hands of females, is preposterous. To draw general conclusions from particular facts, is preposterous reasoning.
3.
Foolish; absurd; applied to persons.

Definition 2024


preposterous

preposterous

English

Alternative forms

Adjective

preposterous (comparative more preposterous, superlative most preposterous)

  1. Absurd, or contrary to common sense.
    • 1918, W. B. Maxwell, chapter 16, in The Mirror and the Lamp:
      The preposterous altruism too! [] 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.
    • 2014 December 4, Timothy Egan, “A deficit of dignity”, in The New York Times:
      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.
    • 2016 January 30, "America deserves more from presidential hopefuls," The National (retrieved 31 January 2016):
      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.

Synonyms

Translations

See also

External links

  • preposterous in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913
  • preposterous in The Century Dictionary, The Century Co., New York, 1911