as in ridiculous
so foolish or pointless as to be worthy of scornful laughter
the derisive performances of some of the singers on the talent show
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of derisive
The revelation quickly made headlines, and the social-media peanut gallery was sharply derisive.
—
Emma Sandler, Vogue, 15 Dec. 2025
Earlier that day, Minaj had posted derisive comments about Roc Nation, suggesting the company had unsuccessfully tried to sign her.
—Andrew Flanagan, Variety, 15 Oct. 2025
While speaking to Jay Shetty on his podcast On Purpose in an episode released Wednesday, Watson spoke about the personal, derisive comments Rowling has made against her.
—Mathew Rodriguez, Them., 25 Sep. 2025
The intensity of Irish expressions of solidarity in 2024 caused one pro-Israel commentator, Ben Cohen, to coin the term Paddystinian as a derisive epithet to counter the narrative.
—Philip Metres
august 27, Literary Hub, 27 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for derisive
Emma Sandler, Vogue, 15 Dec. 2025
Earlier that day, Minaj had posted derisive comments about Roc Nation, suggesting the company had unsuccessfully tried to sign her.
—Andrew Flanagan, Variety, 15 Oct. 2025
While speaking to Jay Shetty on his podcast On Purpose in an episode released Wednesday, Watson spoke about the personal, derisive comments Rowling has made against her.
—Mathew Rodriguez, Them., 25 Sep. 2025
The intensity of Irish expressions of solidarity in 2024 caused one pro-Israel commentator, Ben Cohen, to coin the term Paddystinian as a derisive epithet to counter the narrative.
—Philip Metres
august 27, Literary Hub, 27 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for derisive
Recent Examples of Synonyms for derisive
Adjective
-
And that it’s all tied together with the messy, fraught and sometimes ridiculous experience of being human.—
Alexandra Oliva
June 1,
Literary Hub,
1 June 2026
-
The sabotage accusation is ridiculous.—
Dan Zaksheske OutKick,
FOXNews.com,
31 May 2026
Adjective
-
There is always the possibility that something absurd might occur — the equivalent of Neymar’s 2017 move to Paris Saint-Germain, for instance — but that’s extremely unlikely.—
Sebastian Stafford-Bloor,
New York Times,
27 May 2026
-
Ironically, the fears of two Republicans advancing were driven by Democratic data vendor Paul Mitchell, who built a prediction machine using absurd inputs like betting odds and polls that cannot account for things like rape allegations.—
Matt Fleming,
Oc Register,
27 May 2026
Adjective
-
Through the fuzz and the bad camera angles emerges an extraordinary catalogue of dummies, flicks, and feints, a hodge-podge of silly tricks.—
Jack Lang,
New York Times,
28 May 2026
-
To lose that would be silly now.—
Mikey O'Connell,
HollywoodReporter,
28 May 2026
Adjective
-
By then, Thomsen says, the public perception had shifted from regarding it as tough and controversial to seeing it as desperate and pathetic.—
Harmeet Kaur,
CNN Money,
28 May 2026
-
The plan involved discovering a long lost princess, hopping on a plane to London, breaking into a museum store room, and enlisting the help of a very pathetic historian.—
Shania Russell,
Entertainment Weekly,
22 May 2026
Adjective
-
And that was so arrogant and stupid on my part.—
Brendan Morrow,
USA Today,
3 June 2026
-
At some point, Brandon Aiyuk has to learn that stupid decisions come with consequences.—
Armando Salguero OutKick,
FOXNews.com,
3 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Derisive.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/derisive. Accessed 5 Jun. 2026.
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