ridiculizaron

Ridiculizaron is the third-person plural form of ridiculizar in the pretérito indefinido (pretérito simple) in Spanish. It denotes that a group or multiple subjects performed the act of ridiculizing someone or something in the past. As a verb, ridiculizar means to cause someone or something to seem ridiculous or worthy of mockery, often by exposing flaws, inconsistencies, or unexpected behavior.

Etymology and form: ridiculizar is built from ridículo, meaning “ridiculous,” plus the suffix -izar, which forms verbs meaning “to cause to become” or “to make.” The complete conjugation for this verb follows regular -ar patterns in the past tense, with ridiculizaron corresponding to the ellos/ellas/ustedes form in the pretérito indefinido. Other common forms include ridiculicé, ridiculizaste, ridiculizó, ridiculizamos, ridiculizasteis, and ridiculizaron.

Usage and nuance: Ridiculizar denotes a deliberate act of mockery or scorn toward a person, idea, or situation. It can appear in neutral anecdotal narration or carry pejorative connotations, depending on context and intensity. While not inherently negative in all uses, the term frequently implies a judgment that the ridiculed subject is worthy of derision. It is a transitive verb and typically requires a direct object, for example: ridiculizar a alguien o ridiculizar una propuesta.

Examples:

- En la rueda de prensa, los críticos ridicularizaron la propuesta.

- Muchos usuarios ridiculizaron la campaña en las redes sociales.

See also: ridículo, ridiculizar (base verbal), burlarse, mofarse.