deride

[ dih-rahyd ]

verb (used with object)

, de·rid·ed, de·rid·ing.

1. to laugh at in scorn or contempt; scoff or jeer at; mock.

   Synonyms: rally, banter, gibe, flout, taunt

deride

/ dɪˈraɪd /

verb

1. tr to speak of or treat with contempt, mockery, or ridicule; scoff or jeer at

Derived Forms

• deˈrider, noun
• deˈridingly, adverb

Other Words From

• de·rider noun
• de·riding·ly adverb
• over·de·ride verb (used with object) overderided overderiding
• unde·rided adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of deride¹

First recorded in 1520–30; from Latin dērīdēre “to mock,” equivalent to dē- de- + rīdēre “to laugh”

Word History and Origins

Origin of deride¹

C16: from Latin dērīdēre to laugh to scorn, from de- + rīdēre to laugh, smile

Synonym Study

See ridicule.

Example Sentences

Opponents deride the policies as “forced outing” that make schools less safe for LGBTQ+ people.

From Los Angeles Times

It comes just as President Biden — and Harris by extension — comes under fire for a remark of his, in which he castigated a speaker at a recent Trump rally at Madison Square Garden for calling Puerto Rico a “floating island of garbage” and appeared to deride Trump’s supporters as “garbage” in the process.

From Los Angeles Times

So, as we laugh, deride and decry Trump’s startlingly ignorant, angry, loathsome and insipid antics, and as we point out the lesser transgressions of Harris and her team, we do not point out the stakes of putting Trump back in office.

From Salon

Redstone went on to publicly deride McMahon’s handling of the situation, telling a crowd at New York’s Advertising Week that she would’ve done things differently.

From Salon

That it’s not normal for a former American president to praise dictators and deride NATO, to promote the racist lie that Haitian immigrants are eating dogs and cats in Ohio, to continue to insist that he won an election he lost.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• disdain
• disparage
• mock
• ridicule
• scoff
• scorn
• taunt