as in secondary
taken or created from something original or basic
a derivative style taken from earlier painters
Synonyms & Similar Words
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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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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of derivative
Edward Lotterman, Twin Cities, 1 Mar. 2026
The seltzer leavens it, enlivens it, puts room between the flavors where the room is needed most, and turns a derivative and mediocre drink into a fascinating and bizarre one.
—Jeremy Repanich, Robb Report, 14 Feb. 2026
Bruce Helmer, Twin Cities, 28 Feb. 2026
Synthetic testosterone derivatives that can be taken orally are also now undergoing clinical trials.
—Kenneth H. Mayer, STAT, 27 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for derivative
Adjective
These are derivative securities based on Treasury bonds.
—Edward Lotterman, Twin Cities, 1 Mar. 2026
The seltzer leavens it, enlivens it, puts room between the flavors where the room is needed most, and turns a derivative and mediocre drink into a fascinating and bizarre one.
—Jeremy Repanich, Robb Report, 14 Feb. 2026
Noun
Corporate debt levels, private equity structures, derivatives and even concentration within major stock indexes all introduce leverage into stock portfolios.
—Bruce Helmer, Twin Cities, 28 Feb. 2026
Synthetic testosterone derivatives that can be taken orally are also now undergoing clinical trials.
—Kenneth H. Mayer, STAT, 27 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for derivative
Recent Examples of Synonyms for derivative
Adjective
-
Panthers agree to bring back cornerback Akayleb Evans The Panthers are bringing back a key special teams player as well as a depth piece in their secondary.—
Charlotte Observer,
Charlotte Observer,
10 Mar. 2026
-
When there aren’t enough tickets, that drives up demand insanely on secondary sites.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
10 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
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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Wall Street is also taking notice of the chipmaker as a derivate play of Alphabet’s growing AI dominance.—
Pia Singh,
CNBC,
24 Nov. 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 13 Mar. 2026.
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