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HOW TO PRONOUNCE

derivative

/dɚˈɪvətɪv/

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American Pronunciation Guide · 1:03
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Stress “riv,” the second syllable.

Use four syllables, with a light r-colored opening. Keep the remaining vowels less prominent than the stressed short i, and finish with a voiced v.

4 syllables · Stress on syllable 2

TRY SAYING
The plot feels derivative of an earlier film.

APG practice sentence · CC BY-SA 4.0

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary

What does derivative mean?

adjective

  1. Obtained by derivation; not radical, original, or fundamental.
  2. Imitative of the work of someone else.
  3. Referring to a work, such as a translation or adaptation, based on another work that may be subject to copyright restrictions.
More meanings (9)

adjective

  1. Having a value that depends on an underlying asset of variable value.

noun

  1. Something derived.
  2. A word formed by derivation, such as stylish from style.
  3. A financial instrument whose value depends on the valuation of an underlying asset; such as a warrant, an option etc.
  4. A chemical derived from another.
  5. The derived function of f(x): the function giving the instantaneous rate of change of f; equivalently, the function giving the slope of the line tangent to the graph of f. Written f'(x) or (df)/(dx) in Leibniz's notation, ̇f(x) in Newton's notation (the latter used particularly when the independent variable is time).
  6. The value of such a derived function for a given value of its independent variable: the rate of change of a function at a point in its domain.
  7. Any of several related generalizations of the derivative: the directional derivative, partial derivative, Fréchet derivative, functional derivative, etc.
  8. The linear operator that maps functions to their derived functions, usually written D; the simplest differential operator.

Definitions regrouped for readability · CC BY-SA 4.0

IPA pronunciation

/dɚˈɪvətɪv/

Pronunciation used in the listening tip.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary

Other dictionary pronunciations

/dɪˈɹɪvətɪv/
Wiktionary contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0

Pronunciation varies by speaker and region. About these dictionary pronunciations.

In the pages of books

See this word in context.

This direct, subjective value of leisure and of other evidences of wealth is no doubt in great part secondary and derivative.
Thorstein VeblenThe Theory of the Leisure ClassProject Gutenberg ebook #833
Kluge, however, seems to reject the interpretation "protector, defender," and to see in the word a derivative from the "nature-sound" pa.
Alexander Francis ChamberlainThe Child and Childhood in Folk-Thought Studies of the Activities and Influences of the Child Among Primitive Peoples, Their Analogues and Survivals in the Civilization of To-DayProject Gutenberg ebook #7966
More book examples (3)
This happy innovation is not a derivative of reason or personal development, but solely the gift and operation of the Holy Ghost.
Martin LutherCommentary on the Epistle to the GalatiansTranslated by Theodore GraebnerProject Gutenberg ebook #1549
Leaving on one side, for the moment, the question of intuitive knowledge, let us consider the above suggested definition of derivative knowledge.
Bertrand RussellThe Problems of PhilosophyProject Gutenberg ebook #5827
He supposed that native term, which he found and did not introduce, to be a derivative from the verb BAIA, or BIAI, 'to make.'
K. Langloh (Katie Langloh) ParkerThe Euahlayi Tribe: A Study of Aboriginal Life in AustraliaProject Gutenberg ebook #3819