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derisive

UK/dɪˈɹaɪ.sɪv/US/dɪˈraɪsɪv/
adjectiveC2Rare in speech; mostly a word you read · #14,684 of 15,258leans written

Derisive means showing open scorn. A derisive laugh, derisive comments, derisive of the whole plan.

It describes the scorn itself, so a derisive cheer is a mocking one. Keep it apart from derisory, which describes a thing so small that it deserves scorn, as in a derisory pay offer.

Definitions of derisive

  1. 1adjectivederisiveShowing open scorn.C2

    “A derisive cheer went up when the minister sat down.”

derisive is a quality.

Where it comes from

Latin deridere means to laugh at, from de plus ridere, to laugh.

  1. Latin

    dērīdeō — to deride

  2. English, today

    derisive

From the participle stem of Latin dērīdeō (“to deride”) + -ive.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA

Practise this word

derisive in the wild

  • The phrase can be derisive, but is also used to refer to a style or type of comedic act.

    Sophomoric humor

  • Some unofficial nicknames are positive, while others are derisive.

    List of city nicknames in the United States

  • As a result, he earned the derisive nickname Jon Contract.

    Jon Koncak

  • There are also some more derisive terms such as buttinsky or busybody.

    Intrusiveness

  • Reality-based community is a derisive term for people who base judgments on facts.

    Reality-based community

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From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. These sentences were written by other people about their own subjects; they are here to show the word at work, not as anybody’s opinion.

Related words

the dērīdeō family

deridederisive

derisive — used about once every 81,824 pages · #14,684 · point at the bar for the others