🇬🇧 Derision meaning: English Vocabulary Flash Card

Derision is when people laugh at someone in a mean way and act like that person is silly, stupid, or not important. It isn’t friendly joking; it’s the kind of laughing that hurts feelings and makes someone feel small or worthless. When there is derision, the person being laughed at usually feels embarrassed, picked on, or bullied.

When I announced I would become the world champion of napping, my family greeted me with derision and a very loud alarm clock.

The robot I built gave a beeping sound of derision and powered off the moment I asked it to do my chores.

Even the dusty dictionary seemed to sigh in derision when I tried to spell "derision" with three Zs and a 9.

The goldfish watched us practice synchronized swimming with silent derision.

Our dog tilted his head in furry derision when I tried to teach him algebra.

At lunch, a girl drew a small sun on the school wall. Boys walked by and sneered with derision; their voices rose in clear derision. The girl's cheeks burned from derision; she whispered amid derision and wiped her hands. She stayed and painted again. When a child laughed at the sun, the sound chased away the derision, and she smiled.

This word is at the C2 level, which means it represents the highest mastery of English. It’s often used in specialized or highly formal contexts and helps you communicate with precision and subtlety, much like a native speaker.

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