as in secondary
taken or created from something original or basic
a derivative style taken from earlier painters
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
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
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of derivative
ABC News, 19 Mar. 2026
Nowhere is this more the case than the energy sector that has underwritten and made possible the transformation of the Gulf states over the past half-century, and whose health remains vital to the global economy and supply chains in oil, gas and many derivative products.
—Kristian Coates Ulrichsen, The Conversation, 19 Mar. 2026
Jacqueline Munis, Fortune, 1 Apr. 2026
The formula includes soothing hydrators such as glycerin, dimethicone, and glyceryl behenate, plus antioxidants (vitamin E and C derivatives) to help calm and protect the skin.
—Lauren Jarvis-Gibson, Miami Herald, 30 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for derivative
Adjective
While legal sports books must follow regulations set by states, prediction markets have argued their trades — called event contracts — are derivative markets, and thus fall under the CFTC's jurisdiction.
—ABC News, 19 Mar. 2026
Nowhere is this more the case than the energy sector that has underwritten and made possible the transformation of the Gulf states over the past half-century, and whose health remains vital to the global economy and supply chains in oil, gas and many derivative products.
—Kristian Coates Ulrichsen, The Conversation, 19 Mar. 2026
Noun
The federal agency that regulates derivatives markets is ready to put the hammer down on prediction markets.
—Jacqueline Munis, Fortune, 1 Apr. 2026
The formula includes soothing hydrators such as glycerin, dimethicone, and glyceryl behenate, plus antioxidants (vitamin E and C derivatives) to help calm and protect the skin.
—Lauren Jarvis-Gibson, Miami Herald, 30 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for derivative
Recent Examples of Synonyms for derivative
Adjective
-
RevMed said its daily pill, daraxonrasib, met all primary and secondary endpoints in a trial of people whose cancer had already progressed on another treatment.—
Angelica Peebles,
CNBC,
13 Apr. 2026
-
And while Faanes delves into the new faces on the defense, finding the right pairings with the secondary’s returnees, the linebacker position is yet again a strength.—
Hunter Bailey,
Charlotte Observer,
13 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
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
-
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
-
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
-
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 18 Apr. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
