derive
verb
Simple meaning
Come from; be connected by a relationship of blood, for example.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
derahyvSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
dɚˈaɪv
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
verb
Come from; be connected by a relationship of blood, for example
“The present name derives from an older form.”
transitive
To obtain or receive (something) from something else.
intransitive
To originate or stem (from).
transitivelogic
To deduce (a conclusion) by reasoning.
To turn the course of (water, etc.); to divert and distribute into subordinate channels.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- B2 · Upper Intermediate
- Frequency
- Moderately Common
- Typical Use
- Neutral / general English
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: Come from; be connected by a relationship of blood, for example
Used this way, derive is a common word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It turns up most in relationships contexts.
“The present name derives from an older form.”
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Common
- Connotation
- No strong connotation
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Where it naturally appears
- Relationships
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use derive
- “The present name derives from an older form.”verb
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Inflected forms
Grammatical variations of the same word.
Formed or developed from something else.
Compound terms
Established multiword terms.
The result of mathematical differentiation.
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.