as in secondary
taken or created from something original or basic
a derivative style taken from earlier painters
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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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Recent Examples of derivative
Ryan Schwartz, TVLine, 3 Jan. 2025
Crush margins refer to the profit margin that processors (or crushers) earn when converting raw soybeans (or other oilseeds) into their derivative products: soybean meal and soybean oil.
—Michael Khouw, CNBC, 2 Jan. 2025
Annie Blay, Allure, 11 Dec. 2024
Lily is a derivative of Elizabeth, who was Mary’s cousin and the mother of John the Baptist.
—Hannah Sacks, People.com, 5 Dec. 2024
See all Example Sentences for derivative 
Adjective
Though the series hails from fellow ER grad R. Scott Gemmill, and counts Wyle and John Wells as executive producers, The Pitt does not feel derivative.
—Ryan Schwartz, TVLine, 3 Jan. 2025
Crush margins refer to the profit margin that processors (or crushers) earn when converting raw soybeans (or other oilseeds) into their derivative products: soybean meal and soybean oil.
—Michael Khouw, CNBC, 2 Jan. 2025
Noun
Retinyl palmitate, the ingredient in Bio-Oil, is a vitamin A derivative considered weaker than over-the-counter retinol and far less potent than a prescription topical retinoid.
—Annie Blay, Allure, 11 Dec. 2024
Lily is a derivative of Elizabeth, who was Mary’s cousin and the mother of John the Baptist.
—Hannah Sacks, People.com, 5 Dec. 2024
See all Example Sentences for derivative
Recent Examples of Synonyms for derivative
Adjective
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Blue Origin, however, failed to meet its secondary goal of recovering the reusable booster stage of the rocket—which was supposed to land on a barge floating in the Atlantic but was lost during reentry.—
Siladitya Ray,
Forbes,
16 Jan. 2025
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Similarly, James resists full explanations for the psychological states of secondary characters.—
Max Chapnick,
The Conversation,
16 Jan. 2025
Noun
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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
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One focus of the program will be on work related to organic matter in the early stages of consideration as alternatives for design and manufacturing—things like algae, mycelium, and derivations of living organisms like insects—as structure for bioplastics, textiles, and pigment.—
Angelica Villa,
ARTnews.com,
30 Sep. 2024
Noun
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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
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This, combined with new and streamlined venues for retail investors to participate in the growing demand for a variety of spot, derivate, and synthetic funds and indices is set to continue push crypto ETF access to new heights.—
Lawrence Wintermeyer,
Forbes,
17 Oct. 2024
Thesaurus Entries Near derivative
Cite this Entry
“Derivative.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/derivative. Accessed 30 Jan. 2025.
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