derisory
/dɪˈɹaɪzəɹi/adjective
derisory is spelled D-E-R-I-S-O-R-Y: 8 letters. It appears about once in every 17 million words in written English, the 124,184th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, derisory means “Laughable, ridiculous, especially due to being small, inadequate, or low-quality; provoking derision” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in derisory?
| Letters | 8: D-E-R-I-S-O-R-Y |
|---|---|
| In writing | about once in every 17 million words; the 124,184th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is derisory?
Derisory appears about once in every 17 million words in written English, the 124,184th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce derisory?
- UK /dɪˈɹaɪzəɹi/
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-derisory.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of derisory
- more derisory comparative
- most derisory superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does derisory mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Laughable, ridiculous, especially due to being small, inadequate, or low-quality; provoking derision.
- 2
Expressing derision; mocking; ridiculing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Where does derisory come from?
From Middle French dérisoire.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).