What's the difference between derision and mockery?

Derision


Definition:

  • (n.) The act of deriding, or the state of being derided; mockery; scornful or contemptuous treatment which holds one up to ridicule.
  • (n.) An object of derision or scorn; a laughing-stock.

Example Sentences:

  • (1) In fact the then president, Amadou Toumani Touré, known as "ATT" more out of derision than any sense of affection, was viewed as deeply corrupt and incapable of delivering the changes that Mali – still one of the five least-developed countries in the world – needed.
  • (2) Spanish football fans’ habit of waving white hankies tends to be derisive, signifying that they wish a hapless manager to be put out of their club’s misery.
  • (3) Waitrose evokes strong opinions: from sniffy derision about the supermarket's perceived airs and graces to expressions of joy from middle-class incomers when their gentrified area is blessed with a branch.
  • (4) Striker Gonzalo Higuaín was also the victim of fan derision when he came on to replace Karim Benzema in the second half, but Karanka insisted the Argentinian still has the backing of the club.
  • (5) And at the same time, speaking to black America, he branded Frazier an Uncle Tom, turning him into an object of derision and scorn.
  • (6) "I think 20 millisieverts is safe but I don't think it's good," said Itaru Watanabe of the education ministry, drawing howls of derision from the audience of participants.
  • (7) At which point – obviously – you reach the stubborn limits of the debate: from even the most supposedly imaginative Labour people as much as any Tories, such heresies would presumably be greeted with sneering derision.
  • (8) The launch of a Greene King “craft” range in 2013 brought angry howls of derision .
  • (9) He has been derided in these pages, but that derision is surpassed by the venomous hatred of the Daily Mail , which loathes the Cameron government in any case and particularly despised Mitchell in his previous job.
  • (10) And yet for someone confronting futility and derision, he appears remarkably cheerful.
  • (11) For reasons which are unfathomable Daniel became a target for derision, abuse and systematic cruelty."
  • (12) The autonomy of sport must be guaranteed.” After attracting derision for last week appearing to suggest that football could bring peace to the Crimea through the 2018 World Cup in Russia, Blatter returned to the subject in an otherwise low-key address.
  • (13) You couldn’t make it up, could you?” He hoots with derisive laughter.
  • (14) Another theory, which goes back in some form to ancient Greek philosophy, argues that all laughter is an expression of superiority: it is, in other words, always an aggressive response, a form of derision or mockery (laughing at, rather than with).
  • (15) The AU delegation - made up of South Africa , Uganda, Mauritania, Congo-Brazzaville and Mali - left the talks looking glum, without making a public comment and to the derisive shouts of the protesters outside the hotel.
  • (16) Gold swiftly retweeted the picture, prompting widespread derision, before explaining his error by claiming he had not realised it was an image of Antonio but while the winger was not offended, the label stuck.
  • (17) The explanation was greeted with derision by Kenyans on Twitter.
  • (18) He was very firm of purpose and yet a gay, exuberant, laughing man – gloom, cynicism, derision, despair, all peculiarly Irish devils, could not hold up their heads in his company.
  • (19) But the easy derision for those public figures probably grows from the sense that music, acting and even reporting all are easy pursuits.
  • (20) Additional information provided indicated that the most helpful categories of interventions included (1) validation; (2) advocacy; (3) empathic understanding; and (4) absence of derision or contempt.

Mockery


Definition:

  • (n.) The act of mocking, deriding, and exposing to contempt, by mimicry, by insincere imitation, or by a false show of earnestness; a counterfeit appearance.
  • (n.) Insulting or contemptuous action or speech; contemptuous merriment; derision; ridicule.
  • (n.) Subject of laughter, derision, or sport.

Example Sentences:

  • (1) These faux pas by the Institutional Revolutionary party candidate, famous for his good looks and telenovela star wife, at the international literary festival in Guadalajara, left Mexico's social and mainstream media buzzing with mockery.
  • (2) Restricted franchise in EU referendum would make a mockery of democracy | Letters Read more My own interest in this matter goes back many years – including devoting my maiden speech in the House of Commons in 2001 to the case for lowering the voting age to 16 across the board.
  • (3) In announcing this sabotage, ministers make a mockery of their own supposed core objectives: local empowerment within a "big society"; massive job creation – via a green industrial revolution – to counter austerity-related job losses; desire to be the greenest government ever ; tackling global warming, and so on.
  • (4) The royals’ habitual secrecy makes a mockery of the accountability we expect of people who receive public money.
  • (5) There is strikingly little support for the Republican contender whose gaffe-prone visit to Europe in July won him few friends and who regularly turns European welfarism and "entitlement societies" into points of mockery in his campaign speeches.
  • (6) There was quite a bit of international mockery about our supposedly all-encompassing "sex by surprise" laws after the rape accusations against Julian Assange .
  • (7) Komoroske and a neighbour researched the new arrival's chequered past, the basis of which, she said, made a mockery of the decision to award him residency in New Zealand.
  • (8) One newspaper declared that Mohamed had "made a mockery" of the government's claim to protect the public, while another offered a reward for information leading to his capture: "£25k to Find the Burka Bunker" .
  • (9) The mockery continued when he noted semi-automatics had only two purposes: to kill people, and to let their owners go to a shooting range, "yell yeehaw, and get all horny at the rapid fire and the burning vapor spurting from the end of the barrel".
  • (10) No sooner had Conway begun to insist in interviews that “ the pivot that he’s made is on substance ”, than he proceeded to make a mockery of her claims.
  • (11) There was also some mockery on social media as tweeters focused on Miliband’s repeated use of anecdotes involving personal conversations he had with ordinary voters, and in particular his double reference to Gareth, a software developer, who turned out to work for a London based IT firm and is a former Lib Dem supporter considering switching to Labour.
  • (12) It is the ultimate representation of spectacle, a mockery of history and tradition, which serves and caters for tourists and expatriates.
  • (13) These cuts are a long way from the average pay increases recently experienced by FTSE 100 company chief executives or the bonuses of many senior financial service executives, and make a mockery of the claim that "we are all in this together".
  • (14) And this cannot logically happen, because as Willem says, there is one thing that no establishment, no dogma, religion or ideology, can bear: mockery.
  • (15) This, perhaps, is because he is so switched on to self-mockery.
  • (16) Amrit Singh, the ACLU lawyer who argued the case said: "The decision to not release the photographs makes a mockery of President Obama's promise of transparency and accountability."
  • (17) In 12 Years a Slave, however, this reassuring cliche is overthrown, and the relationship between Mistress Epps (Sarah Paulson) and Patsey (Lupita Nyong'o) makes a mockery of the one between Scarlett O'Hara (Vivien Leigh) and Prissy (Butterfly McQueen).
  • (18) Another theory, which goes back in some form to ancient Greek philosophy, argues that all laughter is an expression of superiority: it is, in other words, always an aggressive response, a form of derision or mockery (laughing at, rather than with).
  • (19) The steady feed of rambling selfie videos have prompted widespread mockery and scorn and in some cases have clearly further distracted from the plight of Harney County ranchers whom the militia claim to be backing.
  • (20) Reedie said the official was able to test the athlete but only after being told by security officials that 30 days’ notice would be required in future, which “makes a mockery of the idea of no-notice testing”.