deride

verb de·ride \ di-ˈrīd , dē- \

|Updated on: 12 Jul 2018

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Examples: deride in a Sentence

Editor's Note: Did You Know?

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

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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

By the end of his career at Everton, Roberto Martinez was almost derided as a manager who couldn’t organize a defense, whose ideas failed in the same way over and over.

— jonathan wilson, SI.com, "Belgium's Golden Generation Shines Brightest in Ousting Brazil From World Cup," 6 July 2018
The opinion was publicly derided by President Barack Obama in a State of the Union address and was criticized by groups seeking to limit the influence of big money in politics.

— eric tucker, BostonGlobe.com, "A look at some of Justice Kennedy’s most memorable opinions," 28 June 2018
When the Trump administration released its blueprint for coping with high drug costs last month, one particular idea was widely derided — requiring drug makers to include list prices in consumer advertising.

— ed silverman, STAT, "Most Americans support the Trump idea to force pharma to advertise drug prices," 27 June 2018
But when it was first offered last year, Chipotle’s health-conscious rendition of queso was derided as grainy and tasteless (in an echo of Burger King’s deeply unpopular lower-fat Satisfries french fries a few years earlier).

— tiffany hsu, New York Times, "Meat Wrapped in Meat. Doughnut Sandwiches. Want Some of Fast Food’s Big Ideas?," 22 June 2018
The governor’s residence in Hartford itself has nine bathrooms, one more than Lamont, who was recently derided by Democratic rival Joe Ganim for his plenitude of bathrooms.

— neil vigdor, courant.com, "A New Measure Of Wealth In The Governor's Race: Number Of Bathrooms At Home," 6 June 2018
Eleven months ago, when the San Francisco Giants signed Pablo Sandoval to a minor league deal, the move was derided as typical sentimentality from a team unable to let go of the past.

— ann killion, SFChronicle.com, "Sandoval’s return to Giants: From sentimental to genius," 22 June 2018
But he’s also been derided as sexist multiple times.

— gabriella paiella, The Cut, "Why Is Everyone Talking About The New Yorker’s Film Critic and Incredibles 2?," 20 June 2018
Last year, Jimmy Butler was sent to the Wolves in a trade the Bulls were widely derided for at the time.

— rohan nadkarni, SI.com, "Kawhi-to-Boston and More NBA Draft Day Trades That Should Happen," 18 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.

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

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

deride Synonyms

Phrases

make fun of, make sport of, poke fun at, rag on;

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