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pejoration

[ pej-uh-rey-shuhn, pee-juh- ]

noun

  1. depreciation; a lessening in worth, quality, etc.
  2. Historical Linguistics. semantic change in a word to a lower, less approved, or less respectable meaning. Compare melioration ( def 1 ).


pejoration

/ ˌpiːdʒəˈreɪʃən /

noun

  1. linguistics semantic change whereby a word acquires unfavourable connotations Compare amelioration

    the English word ``silly'' changed its meaning from ``holy'' or ``happy'' by pejoration

  2. the process of worsening; deterioration
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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Word History and Origins

Origin of pejoration1

1650–60; < Medieval Latin pējōrātiōn- (stem of pējōrātiō ) a making worse, equivalent to Late Latin pējōrāt ( us ) (past participle of pējōrāre to make worse, derivative of pējor worse) + -iōn- -ion
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Example Sentences

As a recent episode of the podcast Very Bad Words explains, the word has undergone “pejoration” since its inception, or a shift from neutral to negative.

From Slate

The process of pejoration may take place below the level of consciousness, but in historical perspective, the direction of travel is obvious.

A colleague on the news desk, the subeditor James Eagle, says using “woman” as an adjective is “somewhere between a hypercorrection and pejoration, plus a dollop of condescending sexism masquerading as chivalry.”

Pejoration, pē-jō-rā′shun, n. a becoming worse: deterioration.—v.i.

I hope that these baths may arrest the disagreeable tendency to pejoration from which I have suffered in the past year.

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Peircepejorative