PEJORATION Definition & Meaning

pejoration

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

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

noun

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

pejoration

/ ˌ�辱ː��əˈ��ɪʃə�� /

noun

linguistics semantic change whereby a word acquires unfavourable connotations Compare amelioration
the English word ``silly'' changed its meaning from ``holy'' or ``happy'' by pejoration
the process of worsening; deterioration

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�y��vlog History and Origins

Origin of pejoration¹

1650–60; < Medieval Latin ��ŧ��ō��پ�ō��- (stem of ��ŧ��ō��پ�ō ) a making worse, equivalent to Late Latin ��ŧ��ō�� ( us ) (past participle of ��ŧ��ō�� to make worse, derivative of ��ŧ��ǰ� worse) + -��ō��- -ion

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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

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

From

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

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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.”

From

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

From

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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