| 词组 | derisive, derisory |
| 释义 | derisive, derisory Derisive and derisory both came into the language during the 17th century, the former in 1662 and the latter in 1618, as recorded in the OED. Both words then meant about the same thing, "causing or expressing derision." After a long period of time, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, each word developed a second sense, "worthy of ridicule"; thus, the synonymy of the two words was extended. Despite the opinions of critics Chambers 1985, Bryson 1984, and Phythian 1979, derisive and derisory are to some extent still used synonymously in contemporary writing: • ... there was heard derisive laughter from the boorish revelers —Goodman Ace, Saturday Rev., 25 Dec. 1971 • ... pointing a derisory finger at me he roared, "Look at him! The Yellow Press lapdog!" —R. F. Delder-field, For My Own Amusement, 1968 • The put-on artist draws out that derisive moment — Jacob Brackman, New Yorker, 24 June 1967 • What a moment for "Pheeleep"—the derisory name by which that strange ... baronet was known — Times Literary Supp., 22 Oct. 1971 According to the Merriam-Webster files, though, there does seem to be a distinction growing between the two words. The evidence shows that over the last 40 years or so, writers have been more often choosing derisive for its original sense "causing or expressing derision," while opting for derisory when they mean "worthy of ridicule": • ... he stopped just outside the door, waiting; and of course it came: the burst of derisive laughter —Mor-ley Callaghan, The Loved and the Lost, 1951 • Instead, Mailer became his own most derisive critic ... always finally being put down hardest by himself —John W. Aldridge, Saturday Rev., 13 Nov. 1971 • ... even our President recently permitted himself some derisive remarks about intellectuals —Adlai E. Stevenson, New Republic, 22 Nov. 1954 • The old stallion rolled one white, derisive eye —Nelson Algren, The Man with the Golden Arm, 1949 • The small-town editor pays derisory fees—$5 or less—for these syndicated columns —E. S. Turner, Times Literary Supp., 17 Aug. 1984 • He makes his rounds in a derisory excuse for an automobile, which is always in danger of breaking down —A. J. Liebling, New Yorker, 3 Nov. 1956 • ... it was selling them for derisory prices by our standards —Joseph Alsop, N.Y. Times Mag., 18 Mar. 1973 • The wages paid to the seasonal labourers are derisory —V. S. Pritchett, The Spanish Temper, 1954 A note of interest suggested by our files is that derisory (usually in its second sense) recently seems to have been occurring with much more frequency than has derisive (in either of its senses). |
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