1
as in insulting
intended to make a person or thing seem of little importance or value
a literary snob, she invariably used the derisory term "the boob tube" when referring to television
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in ridiculous
so foolish or pointless as to be worthy of scornful laughter
the pawnbroker offered what I regarded as a derisory amount for the diamond ring
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Recent Examples of derisory
She was then remanded in a nunnery, given a derisory sentence — less than two years in jail — before being released with a presidential pardon.
—
Stephanie Bunbury, Deadline, 23 Sep. 2024
The state media are full of derisory commentary about the alleged hypocrisy, decadence, and even blasphemy that is supposedly on display in Paris.
—Fred Weir, The Christian Science Monitor, 6 Aug. 2024
There, the National Weather Service calculated the average wind speed to be a derisory 1.8 mph.
—Martin Weil, Washington Post, 10 Dec. 2023
Often enough beautiful can be used as a derisory adjective in this context.
—Guy Trebay, New York Times, 24 Jan. 2023
But when people invest in their own solar panels and start producing electricity, the feed in tariff pays them back a derisory amount.
—Jemma Green, Forbes, 22 Apr. 2022
The contents of his elegant Tite Street home — roughly 2,000 books, all the furnishings, even the children’s toys — were sold at a bankruptcy auction for derisory sums.
—Washington Post, 13 Oct. 2021
There’s no escaping that the current ESG qualifications of most directors and executives is derisory, and mandatory disclosures would provide the stick to increase competency.
—Paul Polman, Fortune, 11 Apr. 2021
Arsenal are seemingly the latest club to have entered the Harry Maguire saga alongside Manchester United and Manchester City, only to make a derisory transfer enquiry for the Leicester and England centre back well below the Foxes' asking price.
—SI.com, 3 July 2019
Stephanie Bunbury, Deadline, 23 Sep. 2024
The state media are full of derisory commentary about the alleged hypocrisy, decadence, and even blasphemy that is supposedly on display in Paris.
—Fred Weir, The Christian Science Monitor, 6 Aug. 2024
There, the National Weather Service calculated the average wind speed to be a derisory 1.8 mph.
—Martin Weil, Washington Post, 10 Dec. 2023
Often enough beautiful can be used as a derisory adjective in this context.
—Guy Trebay, New York Times, 24 Jan. 2023
But when people invest in their own solar panels and start producing electricity, the feed in tariff pays them back a derisory amount.
—Jemma Green, Forbes, 22 Apr. 2022
The contents of his elegant Tite Street home — roughly 2,000 books, all the furnishings, even the children’s toys — were sold at a bankruptcy auction for derisory sums.
—Washington Post, 13 Oct. 2021
There’s no escaping that the current ESG qualifications of most directors and executives is derisory, and mandatory disclosures would provide the stick to increase competency.
—Paul Polman, Fortune, 11 Apr. 2021
Arsenal are seemingly the latest club to have entered the Harry Maguire saga alongside Manchester United and Manchester City, only to make a derisory transfer enquiry for the Leicester and England centre back well below the Foxes' asking price.
—SI.com, 3 July 2019
Recent Examples of Synonyms for derisory
Adjective
-
To not even reach 10 percent is insulting to all involved and indicates how much needs to change, which is exactly what a group of industry power players are attempting to do in Nashville.—
Steve Baltin,
Forbes.com,
23 July 2025
-
And then, especially in the past several years, friends who stayed say: Honestly, this is kind of insulting—the way people keep talking about Lebanon from afar.—
Sahar Delijani
July 17,
Literary Hub,
17 July 2025
Adjective
-
Thomas, Scheffler, DeChambeau, McIlroy and Koepka are seen throughout the movie, participating in Gilmore’s ridiculous training sessions and eventually battling an antagonistic group of golfers from the fictional Maxi professional golf league.—
Stephanie Stremplewski,
Louisville Courier Journal,
26 July 2025
-
These bizarre allegations are ridiculous and a weak attempt at distraction.—
Domenico Montanaro,
NPR,
25 July 2025
Adjective
-
The French super powerhouse has taken teams part since winning the UEFA Champions League crown on May 24, outscoring its foes by an absurd 21-1 margin.—
Michael Lewis,
Forbes.com,
12 July 2025
-
From the vantage point of 2025, this appears as absurd as suggesting that women’s soccer matches should be 70 minutes instead of 90, the same as in the men’s game.—
Charlie Eccleshare,
New York Times,
12 July 2025
Adjective
-
Trump, too, is scornful of what European diplomacy could achieve, declaring recently that Iran doesn’t want to talk to Europe.—
Garret Martin,
The Conversation,
15 July 2025
-
The cast gets a huge boost at midseason with the arrival of John Leguizamo, equally broadly funny and vulnerable as Dave’s disgraced former partner, and Anna Chlumsky, hilariously scornful as a law enforcement outsider who gets brought into the story’s chaos.—
Daniel Fienberg,
HollywoodReporter,
26 June 2025
Adjective
-
Phoenix assumes a pathetic and quietly arrogant demeanor as Joe, who speaks in a squeaky, exasperated cadence.—
Madison Bloom,
Pitchfork,
17 July 2025
-
Enter Flores, who was hired shortly after that pathetic performance.—
Steve Silverman,
Forbes.com,
11 July 2025
Adjective
-
At this point, the major labels are practically giving away disks, throwing them into large boxes, sometimes with lavish notes and photos, sometimes with contemptuous bareness.—
David Denby,
New Yorker,
20 July 2025
-
By contrast, there’s something almost nakedly contemptuous about the end of this season.—
Kathryn VanArendonk,
Vulture,
30 May 2025
Adjective
-
There were no costumes, no silly dances or hit parodies.—
Courtney Devores,
Charlotte Observer,
28 July 2025
-
That may sound silly to some, Foster said, but the work done by the Environmental Protection Agency in placing bands on birds and following the migration of bees informs officials about the impact of projects on the environment.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
27 July 2025
Adjective
-
This subsided with unusual speed, however, as cricket fans took instead to sharing the self-deprecatory jokes coming over the border.—
The Economist,
The Economist,
22 June 2019
-
Philipps has acquired her 1-million-and-growing Instagram followers through her self-deprecatory humor, raw honesty and vulnerability.—
Sonja Haller,
USA TODAY,
11 July 2018
Cite this Entry
“Derisory.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/derisory. Accessed 7 Aug. 2025.
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