How to Use derisive in a Sentence

derisive

adjective
  • In the third round, Gomez rocked Cota, then tossed Cota to the ring floor, prompting a warning and derisive chants from the crowd.
    — José M. Romero, The Arizona Republic, 21 May 2022
  • The only shot Simmons took was a dunk during pregame warmups that drew derisive cheers from the Philly fans.
    — Aaron Bracy, ajc, 11 Mar. 2022
  • Trump has long struggled to find a derisive nickname that sticks for his Democratic foe in the House.
    — Lynn Berry, The Denver Post, 4 Nov. 2019
  • The idyllic scenes don’t square with the derisive language used decades ago to keep people of color out of the neighborhood.
    — Washington Post, 22 Oct. 2020
  • The program centers on the lives of disabled swimmers who share their derisive vision of the world each week at training.
    — Sam Bradpiece, CNN, 5 Nov. 2019
  • In ruling that Charles Miles should stay in prison, Sacks repeated that phrase often, in a derisive tone.
    — Megan Crepeau, Chicago Tribune, 6 May 2022
  • Slants founder Simon Tam said his goal was to reclaim a derisive slur and transform it into a badge of ethnic pride.
    — Fox News, 19 June 2017
  • Yet the practice of ridicule used since the 1950s and the ease of repeating derisive mocking comments by media got pretty old.
    — Star Tribune, 11 July 2021
  • Over the ensuing years Lopez has seemed to gather a force field around her, as if weaponized against derisive scrutiny.
    — Rob Haskell, Vogue, 8 Nov. 2022
  • Laughter, of the derisive kind, can also be a means of excluding people, Dr. Provine found.
    — BostonGlobe.com, 30 Oct. 2019
  • Laughter, of the derisive kind, can also be a means of excluding people, Dr. Provine found.
    — Benedict Carey, New York Times, 28 Oct. 2019
  • Laughter, of the derisive kind, can also be a means of excluding people, Dr. Provine found.
    — BostonGlobe.com, 30 Oct. 2019
  • Just Breathe: Macchiarini’s antics in this episode earn a derisive sniff.
    — Vulture, 21 Dec. 2023
  • Robles chucked his bat, helmet and gloves, and crowd soon began a derisive chant at umpire Lance Barksdale.
    — BostonGlobe.com, 28 Oct. 2019
  • Robles chucked his bat, helmet and gloves, and crowd soon began a derisive chant at umpire Lance Barksdale.
    — BostonGlobe.com, 28 Oct. 2019
  • Robles chucked his bat, helmet and gloves, and crowd soon began a derisive chant at umpire Lance Barksdale.
    — Ben Walker, chicagotribune.com, 27 Oct. 2019
  • Robles chucked his bat, helmet and gloves, and crowd soon began a derisive chant at umpire Lance Barksdale.
    — Ben Walker, The Denver Post, 27 Oct. 2019
  • Some were openly derisive of the U.S. electoral system.
    — Shashank Bengali, Patrick J. McDonnell, Los Angeles Times, 4 Nov. 2020
  • He’s seen derisive comments on Twitter from people who live out of state that conflate Cawthorn with his constituents.
    — Lisa Rab, Washington Post, 23 Feb. 2022
  • Even as the draft has gone on the road, to Chicago the previous two years and now Philadelphia, Jets fans have kept their derisive tradition alive.
    — Nancy Armour, USA TODAY, 27 Apr. 2017
  • Trump said, using his derisive moniker for the young North Korean leader.
    — Matthew Pennington, Esquire, 3 Jan. 2018
  • Bolsonaro replied with a derisive statement texted to media by his office.
    — Patricia Lara, Bloomberg.com, 14 June 2020
  • Jokes can be mean and derisive, picking on those who are different, establishing who is inside the group and who is not.
    — Tom McTague, The Atlantic, 3 Apr. 2020
  • In this moment in our culture, people either respond to that in a derisive way or in an empathic way.
    — Alexis Soloski, New York Times, 30 May 2023
  • Trump, if 2016 is a guide, will run a nasty campaign, full of derisive caricature of his opponents.
    — Sahil Kapur, BostonGlobe.com, 20 Aug. 2019
  • Walton Goggins plays a man in a bad mood from the start, whose derisive energy is forever butting up against that of his cheery girlfriend, played by Aimee Lou Wood.
    — Nina Metz, Chicago Tribune, 26 Feb. 2025
  • Fans entertained themselves with The Wave while the two super middleweights plodded in the ring, then some expressed themselves with derisive chants.
    — José M. Romero, The Arizona Republic, 28 Jan. 2024
  • Will there be deafening roars and derisive chants and people insisting on doing the wave?
    — New York Times, 27 Dec. 2020
  • Trump’s derisive tone played well with the supporters — kept in the hundreds because of coronavirus — who were invited to hear him.
    — Adam Belz, Star Tribune, 17 Aug. 2020
  • Fans gave up and drew national attention for paying planes to circle the stadium with derisive banners.
    — Matt Baker, The Athletic, 31 Dec. 2024

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'derisive.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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