deride

verb

de·ride | \di-ˈrīd,

dē-\

derided; deriding

Definition of deride

1 : to laugh at or insult contemptuously got derided by a carnival clown

2 : to subject to usually bitter or contemptuous ridicule or criticism politicians deriding their opponents : to express a lack of respect or approval of were derided as the weaker sex

Other Words from deride Synonyms Choose the Right Synonym Did You Know? More Example Sentences Learn More about deride

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Choose the Right Synonym for deride

ridicule, deride, mock, taunt mean to make an object of laughter of. ridicule implies a deliberate often malicious belittling. consistently ridiculed everything she said deride suggests contemptuous and often bitter ridicule. derided their efforts to start their own business mock implies scorn often ironically expressed as by mimicry or sham deference. youngsters began to mock the helpless wino taunt suggests jeeringly provoking insult or challenge. hometown fans taunted the visiting team

Did You Know?

When deride was borrowed into English in the 16th century, it came to us by combining the prefix de- with ridēre, a Latin verb meaning "to laugh." Ridēre is also the ancestor of the English words risible ("laughable") and ridiculous. Of course, English has a number of words meaning "to laugh at unkindly"; in addition to deride, we have ridicule, mock, and taunt. Deride suggests laughter loaded with contemptuousness or bitterness, whereas ridicule implies a deliberate often malicious belittling ("consistently ridiculed everything she said"). Mock implies scorn often ironically expressed by mimicry or sham deference ("mocking the speaker's impassioned tones"). Taunt suggests jeeringly provoking insult or challenge ("hometown fans taunted the visiting team").

Examples of deride in a Sentence

my brothers derided our efforts, but were forced to eat their words when we won first place

Recent Examples on the Web

And he is derided for his treatment of Donald Trump. — Fox News, "Ingraham: The new American left: agents of hatred," 12 Sep. 2018 People who believed in Musk celebrated his generosity; people who didn’t derided the effort. — Elizabeth Lopatto, The Verge, "Welcome to This Week in Elon," 31 Aug. 2018 He sometimes is derided for under-achieving with USC's talent level, as if assembling that level of talent isn't part of being a college head coach. — Ken Goe, OregonLive.com, "Ranking Pac-12 football coaches, from Chris Petersen (best) to Herm Edwards (say what?)," 26 Jan. 2018 Kavanaugh served as Staff Secretary for the 43rd president, whom Trump has derided repeatedly. — Benjamin Hart, Daily Intelligencer, "Supreme Court Countdown: Who’s Got the Inside Track?," 8 July 2018 There, McCoy began to deride me again for a subsequent story. — Marcus Hayes, Philly.com, "Since I was asked: LeSean McCoy handled his issues with me aggressively | Marcus Hayes," 11 July 2018 And, after striking a railroad stop in Fairfax, Stuart sent a telegram to Quartermaster Gen. Montgomery Meigs to deride the stock of Union mules Stuart’s troops had recently captured. — Debbie Truong, Washington Post, "The Confederate commander behind one of the greatest ‘what ifs’ of the Civil War," 7 July 2018 The tweet inspired an instant dogpiling as Twitter users competed to deride it: The mockery of CNBC crossed the ideological line, encompassing conservatives and liberals alike. — Jeet Heer, The New Republic, "Rising wages horrifies CNBC but delights everyone else.," 5 July 2018 Game over, soccer haters, there is nothing left to deride. — Martin Rogers, USA TODAY, "Sorry soccer haters, but this World Cup is absolutely awesome," 25 June 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'deride.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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derf

der Geist der stets verneint

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Last Updated

15 Nov 2018

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Time Traveler for deride

The first known use of deride was circa 1526

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More Definitions for deride

deride

verb

English Language Learners Definition of deride

: to talk or write about (someone or something) in a very critical or insulting way : to say that (someone or something) is ridiculous or has no value

See the full definition for deride in the English Language Learners Dictionary

deride

verb

de·ride | \di-ˈrīd

derided; deriding