嘲笑う
あざわらう · azawarau · JLPT N1 · noun
astatine
嘲 (mock) + 笑う (laugh) = laughing at someone to mock them
嘲 means mock or ridicule, and 笑う means laugh, so 嘲笑う is laughing at someone to belittle them. The 嘲 part adds the scornful, cutting tone that separates it from ordinary laughter.
笑 — bamboo radical 竹 (⺮) + 夭 (yāo, bending)
Originally written with the bamboo radical over 夭, depicting a person bending or swaying. One traditional reading is that bamboo bends in the wind like a person doubling over with laughter. The character has meant 'laugh, smile' since early times, with no major shift in meaning.