01 v. t. To laugh at with contempt; to laugh to scorn; to turn to ridicule or make sport of; to mock; to scoff at.
imp. & p. p.
Derided; p. pr. & vb. n.
Deriding
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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.