pejoration

English

Etymology

From Latin peior (“worse”), +‎ -ation.

Noun
Examples (linguistics)
  • Old English sǣliġ (“blessed”) → Middle English seli (“blissful”) → English silly (“weak, senseless”)

pejoration (countable and uncountable, plural pejorations)

  1. The act or process of becoming worse; worsening or degeneration.
  2. (linguistics) The process by which a word acquires a more negative meaning over time.
    Synonym: pejorativization
    Antonym: amelioration
    Coordinate term: euphemism treadmill
    • 2014, James Lambert, “A Much Tortured Expression: A New Look At `Hobson-Jobson'”, in International Journal of Lexicography, volume 27, number 1, page 58:
      Nagle explains that the contemporary disapproval of the title is due to a multilayered pejoration inherent in the term Hobson-Jobson.

Further reading
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