| pejorative \peh-JAH-reh-tiv or peh-JO-reh-tiv\ (adjective) - Having negative connotations, deprecatory, usually in reference to words or phrases.
"Mike has such a pejorative attitude toward women I doubt he will ever marry."
Latin pejoratus "having been made worse" (pejorare "to make worse), based on the comparative of the word for "bad", pejor "worse" (malus, pejor, pessimus "bad", "worse", "worst"). Hence it is semantically related to the stems underlying "malady" and "pessimism." "Pejorative" is the linguistic term for "politically incorrect". It usually refers to profanity. "Don't use such pejorative words when talking to me!" not only makes it clear you don't like to hear profanity, but also sets a high standard for what you do like. |
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