as in secondary
taken or created from something original or basic
a derivative style taken from earlier painters
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in derivation
something that naturally develops or is developed from something else
the whole field of industrial robots is a derivative of technology developed for the space program
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of derivative
Angelica Frey, JSTOR Daily, 23 Feb. 2025
For instance, most corporate investment policies restrict investments in equity, commodities or their derivative instruments due to the objective of capital preservation.
—Sunayana Gutta, Forbes, 6 Mar. 2025
Brad Japhe, Forbes, 2 Mar. 2025
Wolfsbane is part of a larger suite of banes; compounds and derivatives include ratsbane, fleabane, and cow-bane, each name signaling a different poison.
—Laura Murphy, JSTOR Daily, 28 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for derivative
Adjective
Leaving aside the development of house, techno, Eurodance, and EDM—all of which are directly derivative of disco music due to their context as dance-floor music—disco’s stylistic conventions seeped across genres.
—Angelica Frey, JSTOR Daily, 23 Feb. 2025
For instance, most corporate investment policies restrict investments in equity, commodities or their derivative instruments due to the objective of capital preservation.
—Sunayana Gutta, Forbes, 6 Mar. 2025
Noun
For well over four centuries it has been distilled from sugarcane juice and/or its derivatives.
—Brad Japhe, Forbes, 2 Mar. 2025
Wolfsbane is part of a larger suite of banes; compounds and derivatives include ratsbane, fleabane, and cow-bane, each name signaling a different poison.
—Laura Murphy, JSTOR Daily, 28 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for derivative
Recent Examples of Synonyms for derivative
Adjective
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The defense has a lot of new players, particularly in the secondary — UM added five defensive backs via the portal who are all competing for roles.—
Adam Lichtenstein,
Sun Sentinel,
17 Mar. 2025
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At that moment — that divine moment, as Ellingson remembers it — Hufanga screamed in from the secondary and blew up an opposing running back on a sweep.—
Luca Evans,
The Denver Post,
16 Mar. 2025
Noun
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The chances are that language switching isn’t necessarily active for the chain-of-thought derivations.—
Lance Eliot,
Forbes,
15 Jan. 2025
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But just keep in mind that is the derivation of the three-point shot.—
Ryan Canfield,
Fox News,
30 Oct. 2024
Noun
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With unique enough lore and a unique style, Saxon avoids making a derivate fable.—
Carlos Aguilar,
Variety,
27 Jan. 2025
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The weed contains two psoralen derivates that can darken sick upon exposure to UV light.—
Ars Technica,
Ars Technica,
27 Nov. 2024
Cite this Entry
“Derivative.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/derivative. Accessed 31 Mar. 2025.
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