ENGLISH
REFERENCE

derivative

n. · adj.
US //dɝˈɪvətɪv// UK //dɪɹˈɪvətˌɪv// de·riv·a·tive
  1. 1 finance (n.)
    C1 Advanced Technical Law

    a type of financial contract whose value depends on the price of something else, like gold or oil.

    a financial instrument whose value is contingent upon the performance of an underlying asset, index, or interest rate.

    Example

    The bank lost money because it invested too much in complex derivatives.

    Example

    The rapid collapse of the housing market was accelerated by the widespread trading of high-risk mortgage-backed derivatives.

    Usage

    Usually used in the plural when referring to the market or investment products.
  2. 2 linguistics (n.)
    C1 Advanced Academic

    a word that is made from another word, usually by adding a beginning or an ending.

    a word formed from another word or root through the process of derivation, such as adding an affix.

    Example

    The word 'happiness' is a derivative of the word 'happy'.

    Example

    Morphological analysis reveals that many English technical terms are derivatives of Latin or Greek roots.
Show 3 more sensesShow fewer
  1. 3 mathematics (n.)
    C1 Advanced Technical Math

    a calculation that shows how fast something is changing at a specific moment.

    the rate of change of a function with respect to a variable, representing the slope of the tangent to the graph of the function.

    Example

    In calculus class, we learned how to find the derivative of a curve.

    Example

    The first derivative of the position function provides the instantaneous velocity of the particle at any given time.
  2. 4 chemistry (n.)
    C1 Advanced Technical Science

    a chemical substance that is made from another similar substance.

    a compound that can be imagined to arise or is actually synthesized from a parent compound by a chemical reaction.

    Example

    The scientist created a new derivative of the drug to reduce side effects.

    Example

    Researchers are testing several synthetic derivatives of the plant extract to determine which has the highest antibacterial potency.
  3. 5 unoriginal (adj.)
    C1 Advanced Academic

    copying someone else's work or style instead of being original.

    imitative of the work of another person, and usually disapproved of for lacking originality.

    Example

    Critics said the new movie was derivative and felt like a copy of older films.

    Example

    While technically proficient, the artist's early paintings were dismissed by critics as being overly derivative of the French Impressionists.

    Teacher's tip

    This adjective sense is almost always negative; it suggests the creator lacked their own ideas.
Origin

From Middle French dérivatif, from Latin dērīvātus, perfect passive participle of dērīvō (“to derive”). Related to derive; by surface analysis, derive + -ative.

© 2026 English Reference