Meaning & use
derision
Last updated
UK/dɪˈrɪʒn/
US/dɪˈrɪʒn/
Meaning
noununcountable
Scornful laughter or mockery showing you think someone or something is foolish or worthless.
Grammar: Uncountable: met with derision, not a derision.
Patterns
- derision from someone
- in derision
- an object of derision
His idea was met with derision.
The crowd greeted the speaker with derision.
She laughed in derision at the suggestion.
Common combinations
- met with derision
- The proposal was met with derision.
- object of derision
- He became an object of derision at school.
- open derision
- The critics wrote with open derision.
- in derision
- She snorted in derision.
- hoots of derision
- There were hoots of derision from the back.
Synonyms and how they differ
- mockery
- Mockery is broader and may be playful, while derision always shows scorn.
- ridicule
- Ridicule is making fun of someone in words or actions, with less emphasis on contempt.
- scorn
- Scorn is the feeling of contempt itself, not the laughing or jeering.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: derision or decision?
derision vs decision
Decision is a choice made, not scorn; the words sound similar but are unrelated.
Practice
The manager's plan was greeted with ___ by the staff, who laughed it off.
Choose one answer.
Laughing a plan off shows scorn, which is derision. The other nouns show positive reactions.
Make it your own
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