deride

verb de·ride \ di-ˈrīd , dē- \

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

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derider

noun

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deridingly

play \-ˈrī-diŋ-lē\ adverb

See deride defined for English-language learners

See deride defined for kids

deride was our Word of the Day on 12/05/2014. Hear the podcast!

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

And yet the wealthy Linton defends her boasting and derides me, a hardworking, taxpaying American, in the process.

— madeleine aggeler, The Cut, "Woman Attacked by Louise Linton on Instagram Pens Op-Ed for CNN," 23 Aug. 2017
Several signs left to soak up the morning dew derided Wes Bellamy, a black Charlottesville city councilman, in the most derogatory of racial terms.

— robert king, Indianapolis Star, "The story of Charlottesville told in debris," 13 Aug. 2017
Bacus, for instance, said NAFTA, while much derided by Trump, had been a boon for beef exports.

— author: alan rappeport, Alaska Dispatch News, "Trump’s stalled trade agenda leaves industries in a bind," 7 Aug. 2017
The vote was derided by the opposition as fraudulent after the government said more than 8 million people participated in the process to select the 545 delegates.

— nathan crooks, Bloomberg.com, "Venezuela Assembly Selects Impassioned Maduro Ally as Its Leader," 4 Aug. 2017
Chelsea are frequently derided for their unwillingness to give youngsters a chance at Stamford Bridge in the first team, but manager Antonio Conte claimed that players working their way up from the academy need to have more 'patience'.

— SI.com, "Bournemouth Star Hits Back at Antonio Conte Claims About Youngsters' Lack of Patience at Chelsea," 1 Aug. 2017
While that effort was derided by some as a stunt that would do little to help ALS research, it was actually credited with helping lead to the discovery of a new gene associated with ALS almost exactly one year ago.

— sy mukherjee, Fortune, "What You Should Know About ALS, The Disease That Killed Actor and Playwright Sam Shepard," 31 July 2017
The tiny animals that create the Force were widely derided by fans who appreciated the mystery of Star Wars, but their needlessly complex backstory makes for a perfect fodder for a fake paper.

— david grossman, Popular Mechanics, "'Star Wars' Sneaks Into Science Journals in Bogus Paper," 24 July 2017
Tensions rose in recent months as Yachay Tech’s rector, Carlos Castillo-Chavez, derided the university’s overall research output.

— emiliano rodríguez mega, Science | AAAS, "Plans for a research powerhouse in the Andes begin to unravel," 21 July 2017

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

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: circa 1526

See Words from the same year

deride Synonyms

Synonyms

ridicule, gibe (or jibe), jeer, laugh (at), mock, scout, shoot down, skewer

Related Words

scoff (at), scorn, sneer (at); bad-mouth, belittle, decry, disparage, pooh-pooh (also pooh), put down; chaff, jive, josh, kid, quiz, rally, razz, rib, ride, tease, tweak, twit; bait, barrack [chiefly British], bug, catcall, harass, harry, hassle, heckle, needle, pester, rag, target, taunt, torment; ape, burlesque, caricature, imitate, lampoon, mimic, parody, parrot, pillory, satirize, take off (on), travesty

Near Antonyms

applaud, approve, commend, endorse (also indorse), sanction

Synonym Discussion of 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

DERIDE Defined for English Language Learners

deride

verb

Definition of deride for English Language Learners

: 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