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Literary notes about Derisive (AI summary)

In literature, “derisive” functions as a multifaceted descriptor to convey contempt and mockery through tone, gesture, and facial expression. It often colors a character’s actions with an undercurrent of scorn—a derisive chuckle [1] or a subtly contemptuous smile [2, 3, 4] can indicate a dismissive attitude even in the midst of social interaction. Authors also use the term to imbue dialogue with irony, as a voice may take on a derisive inflection that transforms a routine remark into a pointed critique [5, 6, 7]. Moreover, narrative passages may evoke broader cultural or emotional commentary, such as derisive farewells [8] or the bitter, ironic mirth of fate [9], thereby enriching the text with layers of humor and subtle judgment [10, 11].
  1. " "Oh!" Bill gave another derisive chuckle.
    — from The Easiest Way: A Story of Metropolitan Life by Eugene Walter
  2. That hardened "ginthleman," absently sipping his coffee, flung a faintly-derisive, patient smile at his accuser.
    — from The Luck of the Mounted: A Tale of the Royal Northwest Mounted Police by Ralph S. (Ralph Selwood) Kendall
  3. "Perhaps he wants to be the messenger," said Mr. Courtney, with a derisive smile.
    — from Grit; or, The Young Boatman of Pine Point by Alger, Horatio, Jr.
  4. Mark hastily put up his hand to cover a smile which he felt to be derisive.
    — from Brothers: The True History of a Fight Against Odds by Horace Annesley Vachell
  5. Saying this, with a jerk of his body, which might have been either propitiatory or derisive, he fell into step beside me.
    — from David Copperfield by Charles Dickens
  6. "And how did you know her name was Mathilde?" asked the Captain, in a cold, derisive tone.
    — from The Bright Face of Danger Being an Account of Some Adventures of Henri de Launay, Son of the Sieur de la Tournoire by Robert Neilson Stephens
  7. But from Horace on, ī nunc , go to now , is followed by et with a second imperative in derisive orders.
    — from A Latin Grammar for Schools and Colleges by George Martin Lane
  8. The young men must have interpreted the action in like manner, for the window was suddenly put down and three hands waved him a derisive farewell.
    — from Glories of Spain by Charles W. (Charles William) Wood
  9. Worse than all, he had to withstand the pitiless irony of it, the derisive grin of fate that drives men mad.
    — from Where the Pavement Ends by John Russell
  10. drollish; seriocomic, tragicomic; gimcrack, contemptible &c. (unimportant) 643; doggerel; ironical &c. (derisive) 856; risible.
    — from Roget's Thesaurus by Peter Mark Roget
  11. The derisive Jew laughter of Heine ran through the university and everything else in Berlin.
    — from The Education of Henry Adams by Henry Adams

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