The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Deride \De*ride"\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Derided; p. pr. & vb.
   n. Deriding.] [L. deridere, derisum; de- + rid?re to laugh.
   See Ridicule.]
   To laugh at with contempt; to laugh to scorn; to turn to
   ridicule or make sport of; to mock; to scoff at.
   [1913 Webster]

         And the Pharisees, also, . . . derided him. --Luke xvi.
                                                  14.
   [1913 Webster]

         Sport that wrinkled Care derides.
         And Laughter holding both his sides.     --Milton.

   Syn: To mock; laugh at; ridicule; insult; taunt; jeer;
        banter; rally.

   Usage: To Deride, Ridicule, Mock, Taunt. A man may
          ridicule without any unkindness of feeling; his object
          may be to correct; as, to ridicule the follies of the
          age. He who derides is actuated by a severe a
          contemptuous spirit; as, to deride one for his
          religious principles. To mock is stronger, and denotes
          open and scornful derision; as, to mock at sin. To
          taunt is to reproach with the keenest insult; as, to
          taunt one for his misfortunes. Ridicule consists more
          in words than in actions; derision and mockery evince
          themselves in actions as well as words; taunts are
          always expressed in words of extreme bitterness.
          [1913 Webster]

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):

deride
    v 1: treat or speak of with contempt; "He derided his student's
         attempt to solve the biggest problem in mathematics"

Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0:

80 Moby Thesaurus words for "deride":
   banter, be above, be contemptuous of, belittle, care nothing for,
   chaff, contemn, dare, despise, diminish, disdain, disparage,
   disprize, disregard, dump on, feel contempt for, feel superior to,
   flout, get fresh, get smart, grin at, have a nerve, have the cheek,
   have the gall, hold beneath one, hold cheap, hold in contempt,
   hold in derision, insult, jeer at, jolly, kid, knock, laugh at,
   laugh to scorn, look down upon, lout, make bold, make fun of,
   make game of, make merry with, misprize, mock, pan, pillory,
   point at, poke fun at, pooh-pooh, presume, put down, put one on,
   quiz, rag, rally, rank low, razz, rib, ride, ridicule, roast,
   scoff at, scorn, scout, set at defiance, set at naught, slight,
   slight over, smile at, sneer at, sneeze at, snicker at, sniff at,
   snigger at, snort at, take liberties, taunt, tease,
   think nothing of, treat with contempt, twit