pejorative

American  

[pi-jawr-uh-tiv, -jor-] / pɪˈdʒɔr ə tɪv, -ˈdʒɒr- /

adjective

1. having a disparaging, derogatory, or belittling meaning or effect.

   The -ling in princeling is a pejorative suffix.

   Synonyms:

   deprecatory

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noun

1. a form or word that is disparaging, derogatory, or belittling, such as bean counter for an accountant, or the -nik in peacenik.

pejorative British  

/ pɪˈdʒɒrətɪv, ˈpiːdʒər- /

adjective

1. (of words, expressions, etc) having an unpleasant or disparaging connotation

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noun

1. a pejorative word, expression, etc

Other Word Forms

• nonpejorative adjective
• nonpejoratively adverb
• pejoratively adverb
• unpejorative adjective
• unpejoratively adverb

Etymology

Origin of pejorative

First recorded in 1880–85; from Latin pējōrāt(us) “made worse” ( pejoration ) + -ive

Example Sentences

What was once a pejorative term—“moonlighting”—morphed into a more-attractive “side hustle.”

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 19, 2025

"Mercenary" is a particularly pejorative word in Arabic.

From Barron's • Nov. 5, 2025

The tweets are written in all caps and are smattered with random old-guy quotation marks, parentheticals, and pejorative nicknames.

From Slate • Aug. 26, 2025

Dr Upton claimed Ms Peggie was aggressive during the exchange, adding: "I consider the act of waiting for a colleague to leave, confronting her, asking personal questions, and using pejorative language inappropriate."

From BBC • Feb. 10, 2025

I’d stopped using the word fascinated to describe the way he engaged with me and my life, because the pejorative iteration of the word no longer seemed fair.

From "A Very Large Expanse of Sea" by Tahereh Mafi