deride Meaning, Definition & Usage

De*ride" transitive verb

Etymology

L. deridere, derisum; de- + ridre to laugh. See Ridicule.

Wordforms

imperfect & past participle Derided; present participle & verbal noun Deriding

Definitions

1. To laugh at with contempt; to laugh to scorn; to turn to ridicule or make sport of; to mock; to scoff at.

   And the Pharisees, also, . . . derided him. Luke xvi. 14.

   Sport that wrinkled Care derides. And Laughter holding both his sides. Milton.

   Syn. -- To mock; laugh at; ridicule; insult; taunt; jeer; banter; rally. -- To Deride, Ridicule, Mock, Taunt. A man may ridicule without any unkindness of feeling; his object may be to correct; as, to ridicule the follies of the age. He who derides is actuated by a severe a contemptuous spirit; as, to deride one for his religious principles. To mock is stronger, and denotes open and scornful derision; as, to mock at sin. To taunt is to reproach with the keenest insult; as, to taunt one for his misfortunes. Ridicule consists more in words than in actions; derision and mockery evince themselves in actions as well as words; taunts are always expressed in words of extreme bitterness.