derisory
Britishadjective
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subject to or worthy of derision, esp because of being ridiculously small or inadequate
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another word for derisive
Explanation
The adjective derisory means so absurd that it makes you laugh, like your friend's derisory offer to buy your valuable baseball card collection for a dollar. You can use this adjective in two ways. First, it means "ridiculously inadequate." Things in this category include derisory pay for doing a difficult job and the derisory punishment your sister gets for stealing your Halloween candy. The second meaning is "mocking or expressing contempt," basically a synonym for derisive. The Latin root of both words is deridere, "to ridicule."
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Notwithstanding the derisory mood of the 1970s, the sense of loss and of destiny denied would arrive much later.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 15, 2026
"All too often, the sentences handed down against the perpetrators of antisemitic offences and crimes seem derisory," he said.
From Barron's ● Feb. 13, 2026
Tanya Wakeley, a teacher St Cecilia's College in Londonderry, and vice president of the National Education Union in Northern Ireland, said the 5.5% offer was "insulting and derisory".
From BBC ● Feb. 7, 2025
In a letter to the FE employers seen by BBC News NI, the UCU's Northern Ireland official Katharine Clarke said the latest pay offer was "derisory and must be rejected".
From BBC ● Apr. 24, 2023
His dark eyes were bent on her and she surprised on his face an expression half derisory, half quizzical.
From The Lady of the Mount by Frederic Stewart Isham
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
