lud
Latinplay, sport, mock
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.
Associated Words · 22
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