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  3. /lud

lud

Latin

play, sport, mock

Variants:ludlus
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About This Root

From Latin lūdere 'to play, sport,' past participle lūsus. The verb stem -lud- and the past-participle stem -lus- pair up across the family: delude / delusion, allude / allusion, collude / collusion, elude / elusion. The neutral 'performance' sense survives in prelude, interlude, and postlude (a musical or dramatic 'play' before, between, or after). But most members carry the darker sense of 'playing with' someone — that is, tricking them: illusion (playing tricks on the eyes), delude and collude (playing someone false), elude (playing away, slipping free), allude (playing at a meaning indirectly). ludicrous keeps the literal 'playful' idea, gone over the top into the absurd.

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Associated Words · 22

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illusion

A false perception or belief; something that appears real but is not

elusive

Difficult to find, catch, or understand

allude

To refer to something indirectly or by suggestion

elude

To cleverly escape or avoid; to be beyond someone's understanding

delusion

A false belief firmly held despite evidence to the contrary; the state of being misled

ludicrous

So absurd or incongruous as to be amusing or invite ridicule

allusion

An indirect reference to a person, event, or idea

prelude

An introductory event leading to something more important; a musical introduction

disillusion

To free someone from false beliefs or illusions; the state of disenchantment

disillusionment

Disappointment from discovering something is not as good as believed

illusory

Based on illusion; not real; deceptive

interlude

A pause or short entertainment between parts of a performance

collusion

A secret agreement to deceive or act illegally

delude

To deceive someone into believing something false

collude

To conspire secretly for a dishonest purpose

illusionist

A performer who creates illusions using magic or sleight of hand

illusive

Based on illusion; deceptively unreal

illusionary

Relating to or producing an illusion; not real

collusive

Involving secret cooperation for a fraudulent purpose

delusive

Creating false impressions; misleading

elusion

The act of cleverly escaping or avoiding

postlude

Music played at the end of a service; a concluding passage