Webster's 1828 Dictionary

DERISORY

a.Mocking; ridiculing.

 

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

DERISORY

De *ri "so *ry, a. Etym: [L. derisorius: cf. F. dérisoire. ]

 

Defn: Derisive; mocking. Shaftesbury.

 

New American Oxford Dictionary

derisory

de ri so ry |diˈrīsərē, -ˈrī -dəˈraɪs (ə )ri | ▶adjective 1 ridiculously small or inadequate: they were given a derisory pay rise. 2 another term for derisive: his derisory gaze swept over her. ORIGIN early 17th cent. (in the sense ‘derisive ’): from late Latin derisorius, from deris- ‘scoffed at, ’ from the verb deridere (see derision ). usage: Although the words derisory and derisive share similar roots, they have different core meanings. Derisory usually means ‘ridiculously small or inadequate, ’ as in a derisory pay offer or the security arrangements were derisory . Derisive, on the other hand, is used to mean ‘showing contempt, ’ as in he gave a derisive laugh.

 

Oxford Dictionary

derisory

derisory |dɪˈrʌɪs (ə )ri, -z- | ▶adjective 1 ridiculously small or inadequate: they were given a derisory pay rise. 2 another term for derisive: his derisory gaze swept over her. ORIGIN early 17th cent. (in the sense ‘derisive ’): from late Latin derisorius, from deris- ‘scoffed at ’, from the verb deridere (see derision ). usage: Although the words derisory and derisive share similar roots they have different core meanings. Derisory usually means ‘ridiculously small or inadequate ’, as in a derisory pay offer or the security arrangements were derisory . Derisive, on the other hand, is used to mean ‘showing contempt ’, as in he gave a derisive laugh.

 

American Oxford Thesaurus

derisory

derisory adjective 1 a derisory sum: inadequate, insufficient, tiny, small; trifling, paltry, pitiful, miserly, miserable; negligible, token, nominal; ridiculous, laughable, ludicrous, preposterous, insulting; informal measly, stingy, lousy, pathetic, piddling, piffling, mingy. 2 derisory calls from the crowd. See derisive.

 

Oxford Thesaurus

derisory

derisory adjective 1 it was sold at auction for a derisory sum: inadequate, insufficient, tiny, small, minimal, trifling, paltry, pitiful; miserly, miserable; negligible, token, nominal; ridiculous, laughable, ludicrous, risible, preposterous, absurd; insulting, contemptible, outrageous; informal measly, stingy, lousy, pathetic, piddling, piffling, mingy, poxy; N. Amer. informal nickel-and-dime. 2 there were derisory calls from the crowd. See derisive. EASILY CONFUSED WORDS derisory or derisive? Derisory and derisive are both derived from Latin deridere ‘mock, scoff ’, but their meanings are connected with mockery in different ways. Derisory usually means ‘ridiculously small or inadequate ’, as in a derisory pay offer. Derisive, on the other hand, means ‘showing contempt ’, as in he gave a derisive laugh. These notes clear up confusion between similar-looking pairs.

 

Sanseido Wisdom Dictionary

derisory

de ri so ry /dɪráɪs (ə )ri /形容詞 1 ｟かたく ｠(金額が )わずかな, 取るに足らない .2 ｟まれ ｠＝derisive .