# derivative

/dɝˈɪvətɪv/ (US) · /dɪɹˈɪvətˌɪv/ (UK)

Source: https://englishreference.com/word/derivative
Updated: 2026-06-20

## Senses

### 1. finance

noun · CEFR C1 · Technical

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

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

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

noun · CEFR C1 · Academic

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

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

- The word 'happiness' is a derivative of the word 'happy'.
- Morphological analysis reveals that many English technical terms are derivatives of Latin or Greek roots.

### 3. mathematics

noun · CEFR C1 · Technical

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

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

- In calculus class, we learned how to find the derivative of a curve.
- The first derivative of the position function provides the instantaneous velocity of the particle at any given time.

### 4. chemistry

noun · CEFR C1 · Technical

a chemical substance that is made from another similar substance.

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

- The scientist created a new derivative of the drug to reduce side effects.
- Researchers are testing several synthetic derivatives of the plant extract to determine which has the highest antibacterial potency.

### 5. unoriginal

adjective · CEFR C1 · Academic

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

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

- Critics said the new movie was derivative and felt like a copy of older films.
- While technically proficient, the artist's early paintings were dismissed by critics as being overly derivative of the French Impressionists.

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

## Examples

- The new drug is a chemical derivative of a plant extract.
- Investors use financial derivatives like options and futures to protect themselves against sudden changes in market prices.
- While the artist's early work was criticized as being a mere derivative of French Impressionism, her later pieces established a unique and influential visual language.

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.