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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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of derivative
Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 11 Apr. 2026
Elsewhere, Phillips 66 is facing nearly $1 billion in losses from a short position in oil and other commodity derivative contracts, after the war sent fuel prices skyrocketing.
—Marcus Wright, Bloomberg, 7 Apr. 2026
Bob Diamond, Fortune, 28 Apr. 2026
Rice bran oil, tocopherol (a derivative of vitamin E), and dimethicone blend together to smooth hair and boost shine.
—Deanna Pai, Vogue, 27 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for derivative
Adjective
But shark movies, because of that derivative quality (and because the directors are not Spielberg), often tend to be dreary and claustrophobic affairs.
—Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 11 Apr. 2026
Elsewhere, Phillips 66 is facing nearly $1 billion in losses from a short position in oil and other commodity derivative contracts, after the war sent fuel prices skyrocketing.
—Marcus Wright, Bloomberg, 7 Apr. 2026
Noun
In late February, when the United States and Israel struck Iran on a Friday evening NY time, traditional commodity derivatives markets were closed.
—Bob Diamond, Fortune, 28 Apr. 2026
Rice bran oil, tocopherol (a derivative of vitamin E), and dimethicone blend together to smooth hair and boost shine.
—Deanna Pai, Vogue, 27 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for derivative
Recent Examples of Synonyms for derivative
Adjective
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Goncalves received the secondary assist, skating in from the top of the left circle to free up D’Astous for a shot attempt from the point.—
Eduardo A. Encina,
The Orlando Sentinel,
4 May 2026
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The decision is often influenced by the size of the holding, but also by a broader awareness that storage is part of the investment strategy, not a secondary concern.—
Ascend Agency,
New York Daily News,
4 May 2026
Noun
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Five years after he was killed, in response to political unrest, the government increased the derivation fund to 13 percent for oil-producing states.—
Noo Saro-Wiwa,
The Dial,
24 Mar. 2026
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Large Language Models often struggle with precise derivations and calculations in theoretical physics, sometimes exhibiting inconsistent reasoning.—
Paul Sutter,
Space.com,
22 Mar. 2026
Noun
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While Apple shares were up more than 4% in trading Friday, all of the derivate plays were trading in the red.—
Liz Napolitano,
CNBC,
1 May 2026
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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 9 May. 2026.
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