Definition of deride
derided
;deriding
transitive verb
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
derider
nounFrom the M-W Editors
deride was our Word of the Day on 12/05/2014. Hear the podcast!
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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 of deride from the Web
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Democrats on the committee derided Burr for collecting the reports without consultation.
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BATON ROUGE -- A Republican lawmaker who sought to overhaul Louisiana's tax laws, which are derided for their complications and loopholes, seems to have given up on most of the effort in disgust.
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Trump has derided the Russia investigation and said there was no collusion between his campaign and the Russians.
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Two decades ago, critics derided the city for its cookie-cutter tracts, identical homes that folks could not tell apart and the plain culture of suburbia.
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She was derided as stupid, tasteless and irrelevant.
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After deriding climate change as a hoax and pledging to pull out of the Paris deal during his election campaign, Trump has sidestepped the issue and passed up an number of opportunities to outline his international stance toward global warming.
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The White House derided the court decision as a danger to the nation’s security.
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Cohn’s lawyer, Paul Alan Levy of the consumer advocacy group Public Citizen, derided the complaint.
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.
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").
Origin and Etymology of deride
Latin deridēre, from de- + ridēre to laugh
First Known Use: circa 1526
Synonym Discussion of deride
DERIDE Defined for English Language Learners
deride
playDefinition of deride for English Language Learners
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: 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
DERIDE Defined for Kids
Learn More about deride
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See words that rhyme with deride Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for deride Spanish Central: Translation of deride Nglish: Translation of deride for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of deride for Arabic speakers
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