deride

verb

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de·ride | \ di-ˈrīd

, dē- \

derided; deriding

Definition of deride

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

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 Trump mocked Pelosi with his tweets Friday and derided her and other Democrats late Thursday in Toledo, his first rally of 2020. — Fortune, "Pelosi: House Moving to Send Articles of Impeachment to Senate Next Week," 10 Jan. 2020 Such stubbornness was a point of contention during Cauley-Stein’s four-year stint in Sacramento, where fans derided him for his inconsistent play and lack of blocks. — Connor Letourneau, SFChronicle.com, "How Willie Cauley-Stein is shedding stereotypes with the Warriors," 24 Dec. 2019 Get your history fix in one place: sign up for the weekly TIME History newsletter The meat eaters derided them all. — Adrienne Bitar, Time, "The Turkey Has Been the Subject of Thanksgiving-Day Arguments for Longer Than You Probably Think," 28 Nov. 2019 Many have derided them for wanting to be propagandists rather than reporters. — John Kass, chicagotribune.com, "Column: Northwestern University, the cancel culture and ‘Whatsoever things are true’," 15 Nov. 2019 That didn’t stop Nunes from deriding them as being part of a smear campaign from within the civil service. — Mary Clare Jalonick, The Denver Post, "Takeaways from the first day of public House impeachment hearings," 13 Nov. 2019 In May 2018, the president withdrew the U.S. from the 2015 nuclear accord, deriding it as a one-sided deal. — Camilo Montoya-galvez, CBS News, "Iran's foreign minister "not confident" his country and the U.S. can avert war," 22 Sep. 2019 Mainstream economists deride it almost without exception. — Gwynn Guilford, Quartz, "The quiet campaign to reinstate the gold standard is getting louder," 3 July 2019 If young folk derided the Olds for leaving an environmental and fiscal mess, the baby boom was happy to sling verbal mud in their direction. — Karen Heller, Washington Post, "It was the year of ‘OK boomer,’ and the generations were at each other’s throats," 24 Dec. 2019

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

25 Jan 2020

Cite this Entry

“Deride.” The Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster Inc., https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/deride. Accessed 25 January 2020.

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More Definitions for deride

deride

verb

English Language Learners Definition of deride

formal : 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