How to Use derogatory in a Sentence

derogatory

adjective
  • How the phrase came to be so derogatory was a mystery to him.
    — Lila MacLellan, Quartz at Work, 30 July 2019
  • Students called him derogatory names and knocked books out of his hand.
    — Time, 6 June 2023
  • His posts were laden with racist slurs and derogatory remarks.
    — Dan Frosch, WSJ, 17 May 2022
  • There are a bunch of shows that sound like each other, not in a derogatory way.
    — Recode Staff, Recode, 20 June 2018
  • There was nothing derogatory found and that's why it's moved forward.
    — Fox News, 18 Sep. 2018
  • The student says she was yelled at, called a derogatory name and had the teacher's hands placed on her neck.
    — Sean Joseph Outkick, FOXNews.com, 22 Apr. 2026
  • The issue is that this nice lady made a derogatory racial comment.
    — Washington Post, 28 Oct. 2020
  • Over the years, this has resulted in a range of derogatory stereotypes and slurs.
    — Soon Yu, Forbes, 10 May 2021
  • And out of uniform, he was called a derogatory term by a white person while trying to park his car.
    — Tom Hallman Jr., OregonLive.com, 18 Mar. 2018
  • Jones said, referring to a derogatory term used against Black men.
    — Chao Xiong, Star Tribune, 10 Oct. 2020
  • That man, who is 25 years old, said people in the group yelled derogatory remarks.
    — Peter Hermann, Washington Post, 9 Aug. 2022
  • Students across the country were encouraged to sign a pledge to stop their derogatory use of the term.
    — Miles Klee, Rolling Stone, 6 Dec. 2025
  • But why is the term so often seen as derogatory — not to mention white-adjacent?
    — Jessica Cruel, Allure, 22 Aug. 2023
  • That could be because of the derogatory remarks Trump made about women in the past.
    — Mary Kilpatrick, cleveland.com, 8 Jan. 2018
  • Still, the use of some derogatory language on the platform spiked after Musk took the helm.
    — Max Zahn, ABC News, 1 Nov. 2022
  • Some use that and derogatory words for women, Lake and Morgan said.
    — Chris Sikich, The Indianapolis Star, 15 Oct. 2020
  • But would a lawyer be on the side of the music that was derogatory about people who suffered in Auschwitz?
    — Curtis Bunn, NBC News, 3 Aug. 2023
  • But now Musk’s snarky and derogatory tweets aimed at Twitter have been dragged into court.
    — Todd Spangler, Variety, 15 July 2022
  • Reale joked that he’s been called plenty of derogatory names through the years by surfers in the water competing for waves.
    — Laylan Connelly, Oc Register, 13 Jan. 2026
  • Chaney figures the declaration that the term is derogatory will carry a lot of weight.
    — Liz Ruskin, Anchorage Daily News, 23 Nov. 2021
  • Some in the group made derogatory comments to others in the group, the sheriff’s office said in a release.
    — Shelly Bradbury, The Denver Post, 1 Dec. 2019
  • Lorincz, who is White, called the children, who are Black, derogatory names and racial slurs.
    — Lynsey Eidell, PEOPLE, 2 June 2026
  • Some creators are also pointing out that the name ignores the trend’s roots and casts its wearers in a derogatory way.
    — Frances Solá-Santiago, refinery29.com, 12 June 2022
  • And that’s what got talked about and prostituted by the media, in the most derogatory manner.
    — George Varga, San Diego Union-Tribune, 26 July 2023
  • Nobody wants anything derogatory about them, so our first thought is — could any part of this be seen as making fun of this person or this song?
    — Arushi Jacob, Variety, 22 June 2026
  • The episode then cut to a flashback scene, showing Mary making the derogatory comments.
    — Nicholas Rice, PEOPLE.com, 2 Jan. 2022
  • The slur is among the derogatory terms used to caricature Black people.
    — Erin Cox, Washington Post, 22 Mar. 2024
  • The derogatory comments toward the people in the hospital felt like a dagger to my heart.
    — Amy Dickinson, Detroit Free Press, 8 Dec. 2020
  • Barham is not heard saying anything derogatory about Islam.
    — Niraj Warikoo, Freep.com, 12 Sep. 2025
  • The derogatory information has raised the question of what to do with them, leaving them in limbo.
    — New York Times, 23 Oct. 2021

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'derogatory.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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