Word
derision
Phoneticsde·ri·sion
US/dɝˈɪʒən/
UK/dɪɹˈɪʒən/
Definition
n. the act of making fun of someone or something in a mean or cruel way. You use this when people laugh at someone to show they think the person is stupid or weak.
n. the expression of contempt or scorn, typically through ridicule or mockery. Often implies a public or collective dismissal of a person's ideas or character.
Examples
“He faced derision from his classmates after failing the test.”
“The politician's new policy was met with derision by the media, who mocked the lack of a clear budget.”
“Despite the initial derision from the scientific community, her radical hypothesis eventually gained acceptance as more data supported her original findings.”
Examples
simple
“He faced derision from his classmates after failing the test.”
contextual
“The politician's new policy was met with derision by the media, who mocked the lack of a clear budget.”
complex
“Despite the initial derision from the scientific community, her radical hypothesis eventually gained acceptance as more data supported her original findings.”
Real-World Examples
“Her mapping of the ribosome, which led to new designs for antibiotics, faced years of derision, as many scientists saw it as a dead-end effort.” “Wanting to be positive in possession and play forward, he had no options, nowhere to go but back, which drew groans of derision.” Etymology
From Old French derision, from Latin dērīsiōnem, accusative of dērīsiō, from dērīdēre ("to mock, to laugh at, to deride").
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Scan code
englishreference.com/q/derision