as in secondary
taken or created from something original or basic
a derivative style taken from earlier painters
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in derivation
something that naturally develops or is developed from something else
the whole field of industrial robots is a derivative of technology developed for the space program
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Recent Examples of derivative
Spencer Kornhaber, The Atlantic, 22 Dec. 2025
Tesla shareholder Tornetta sued Tesla, filing a derivative action in 2018, accusing Musk and the company’s board of a breach of their fiduciary duties.
—Lora Kolodny, CNBC, 19 Dec. 2025
Jailynn Taylor, Allure, 1 Jan. 2026
Augustinus Bader’s formulation avoids this problem by using ascorbyl glucoside, a water-soluble derivative that stays intact in the bottle, then converts into active Vitamin C once absorbed.
—Justin Fenner, Robb Report, 31 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for derivative
Adjective
Hit songs are usually neither wholly original nor wholly derivative but rather some delectable combination of the two.
—Spencer Kornhaber, The Atlantic, 22 Dec. 2025
Tesla shareholder Tornetta sued Tesla, filing a derivative action in 2018, accusing Musk and the company’s board of a breach of their fiduciary duties.
—Lora Kolodny, CNBC, 19 Dec. 2025
Noun
What sets this formula apart is the inclusion of ascorbyl glucoside and niacinamide, a vitamin C derivative and brightening staple that improves the look of uneven tone and dark spots over time.
—Jailynn Taylor, Allure, 1 Jan. 2026
Augustinus Bader’s formulation avoids this problem by using ascorbyl glucoside, a water-soluble derivative that stays intact in the bottle, then converts into active Vitamin C once absorbed.
—Justin Fenner, Robb Report, 31 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for derivative
Recent Examples of Synonyms for derivative
Adjective
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Tickets on the secondary market as of Thursday night ranged from $357 to more than $25,000.—
Victor Jacobo,
CBS News,
9 Jan. 2026
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Now, buyers are after two primary bedrooms and one secondary.—
Lew Sichelman,
Miami Herald,
9 Jan. 2026
Noun
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Silicon Valley dreamt up poor derivations of past cautionary tales and created a monoculture of exploitative social media feeds and predatory data-hungry apps that birthed Orwell’s surveillance state.—
John Lopez,
HollywoodReporter,
21 Oct. 2025
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Bose found a stronger mathematical derivation of Planck’s law.—
Matt von Hippel,
Quanta Magazine,
23 June 2025
Noun
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Deutsche Börse, which runs the Frankfurt Stock Exchange from 8:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. local time five days a week for derivates and structured products, echoed Euronext.—
Ganesh Rao,Jenni Reid,
CNBC,
22 July 2025
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With unique enough lore and a unique style, Saxon avoids making a derivate fable.—
Carlos Aguilar,
Variety,
27 Jan. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Derivative.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/derivative. Accessed 11 Jan. 2026.
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