Advertisement - Continue reading below

Definition of "derision" []

  • Contemptuous or jeering laughter; ridicule. (noun)
  • A state of being derided: The proposal was held in derision by members of the board. (noun)
  • An object of ridicule; a laughingstock. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Use "derision" in a sentence
  • "Then your soul writhed in derision, you scoffed at that which you had held to be the nobility of the soul, and you minced words satirically over the exquisiteness of the type which we have evolved."
  • "The Republican plan is already getting derision from the Right, making it even easier for Democrats to dismiss (if not outright ridicule)."
  • "The locals enjoy repeating a contrary slogan in derision, "Ni Hechos, Ni Palabras" which I needn´t translate but which. suffice it to say, is repeated often with much relish and irony."