as in ridiculing
to make (someone or something) the object of unkind laughter
my brothers derided our efforts, but were forced to eat their words when we won first place
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of deriding
Maggie Harrison Dupré, Futurism, 11 June 2026
Trump had long gone after Powell, deriding, berating and threatening to fire the ex-Fed chair.
—Sylvan Lane, The Hill, 1 June 2026
Some were accurately describing their uniquely homemade contents, while others were deriding the very idea.
—Mark Ellwood, Robb Report, 28 Apr. 2026
It’s often used in sports, notably English soccer, as a way of deriding a team’s mentality in clutch moments.
—Ben Church, CNN Money, 20 Apr. 2026
Trump’s individual attacks followed a blanket statement deriding all four podcast hosts.
—Kevin Dolak, HollywoodReporter, 10 Apr. 2026
Ye has attracted controversy in recent years over his comments deriding both Jewish and Black people, but is seemingly attempting a comeback.
—Taylor Ardrey, USA Today, 3 Apr. 2026
For centuries, a frequent tactic of antisemitism has been to attack Jewish men, deriding their masculinity.
—Miriam Eve Mora, The Conversation, 3 Apr. 2026
Dontzig and Peterman co-wrote 25 episodes of Murphy Brown including its landmark Season 5 opener — a response to then-Vice President Dan Quayle’s remarks deriding the lead character’s decision to have a baby as a single woman.
—Erik Pedersen, Deadline, 4 Mar. 2026
Verb
Though the bot sometimes suggested calling helplines, the lawsuit alleges that GPT-4o mostly allowed Alice space to fixate on her dark thoughts, in one instance even deriding suicide hotlines after Alice rejected the idea of calling one.
—Maggie Harrison Dupré, Futurism, 11 June 2026
Trump had long gone after Powell, deriding, berating and threatening to fire the ex-Fed chair.
—Sylvan Lane, The Hill, 1 June 2026
Some were accurately describing their uniquely homemade contents, while others were deriding the very idea.
—Mark Ellwood, Robb Report, 28 Apr. 2026
It’s often used in sports, notably English soccer, as a way of deriding a team’s mentality in clutch moments.
—Ben Church, CNN Money, 20 Apr. 2026
Trump’s individual attacks followed a blanket statement deriding all four podcast hosts.
—Kevin Dolak, HollywoodReporter, 10 Apr. 2026
Ye has attracted controversy in recent years over his comments deriding both Jewish and Black people, but is seemingly attempting a comeback.
—Taylor Ardrey, USA Today, 3 Apr. 2026
For centuries, a frequent tactic of antisemitism has been to attack Jewish men, deriding their masculinity.
—Miriam Eve Mora, The Conversation, 3 Apr. 2026
Dontzig and Peterman co-wrote 25 episodes of Murphy Brown including its landmark Season 5 opener — a response to then-Vice President Dan Quayle’s remarks deriding the lead character’s decision to have a baby as a single woman.
—Erik Pedersen, Deadline, 4 Mar. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for deriding
Adjective
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To get a sense of his whole deal, look no further than the half-mocking, half-earnest title of his latest album, Country!—
Jonathan Bernstein,
Rolling Stone,
23 Sep. 2025
Verb
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By the 1830s, politicians had stopped ridiculing America’s growing canal system.—
Matthew Smith,
The Conversation,
20 Oct. 2025
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The show opened with a skit mocking Hegseth, portrayed by comedian Colin Jost, ridiculing the Defense Secretary's address to military leaders in Quantico, Virginia, last week.—
Chandelis Duster,
NPR,
5 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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Educators were fired for making insensitive comments about him on their personal social-media accounts; a firefighter in Toledo lost his job for posting a derisive eulogy on Facebook; various airline employees were suspended for disparaging Kirk online.—
Brady Brickner-Wood,
New Yorker,
29 Apr. 2026
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The series has since aired four episodes, with two to go, and fans are hailing Ings as the new Peter Dinklage — witty, derisive, a touch irascible.—
Shannon Keating,
Vulture,
12 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Deriding.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/deriding. Accessed 18 Jun. 2026.
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