ridicule implies a deliberate often malicious belittling.
consistently ridiculed everything she said
deride suggests contemptuous and often bitter ridicule.
derided their efforts to start their own business
mock implies scorn often ironically expressed as by mimicry or sham deference.
the other kids mocked the way he laughed
taunt suggests jeeringly provoking insult or challenge.
hometown fans taunted the visiting team
Examples of ridicule in a Sentence
Noun
She didn't show anyone her artwork for fear of ridicule.
the early efforts by the suffragists to obtain voting rights for women were met with ridiculeVerb
The other kids ridiculed him for the way he dressed.
They ridiculed all of her suggestions.
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Noun
Colin Jost was once again the subject of some good-natured ridicule while sitting behind the Weekend Updates desk.—Shania Russell, EW.com, 9 Mar. 2025 The interaction quickly became the subject of online ridicule.—Gordon G. Chang, Newsweek, 4 Mar. 2025
Verb
And gone are the drugs and alcohol which she has also been ridiculed for in the past, despite speaking candidly about her journey to sobriety
2023 was also the year that Doechii toured with Doja Cat and won the Rising Star award at Billboard’s annual Women in Music event.—Carly Lewis-Oduntan, refinery29.com, 13 Mar. 2025 Similar videos were posted on the lawmakers’ X or Instagram accounts on Tuesday and eventually caught the attention of right-leaning voices, who ridiculed the Democrats for the campaign messaging.—Miranda Nazzaro, The Hill, 4 Mar. 2025 See All Example Sentences for ridicule
Word History
Etymology
Noun
French or Latin; French, from Latin ridiculum jest
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