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melioration

American  
[meel-yuh-rey-shuhn, mee-lee-uh-] / ˌmil yəˈreɪ ʃən, ˌmi li ə- /

noun

  1. Historical Linguistics. semantic change in a word to a more approved or more respectable meaning.

  2. amelioration.

melioration British  
/ ˌmiːlɪəˈreɪʃən /

noun

  1. the act or an instance of improving or the state of being improved

"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

Etymology

Origin of melioration

1620–30; < Late Latin meliōrātiōn- (stem of meliōrātiō ), equivalent to meliōrāt ( us ) ( see meliorate) + -iōn- -ion

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

America social Melioration is conducted more energetically, but less perseveringly than in Europe.

From American Institutions and Their Influence by Tocqueville, Alexis de

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.