ableist language

American  

[ey-buhl-ist lang-gwij] / ˈeɪ bəl ɪst ˈlæŋ gwɪdʒ /

noun

1. words and phrases that devalue disabled people by using disability language or historical descriptions of disabilities as an insult.

   You can make many small changes to minimize ableist language in your vocabulary, like saying a trend is “uncool” rather than calling it “lame.”

2. language that treats disability as something to be pitied or disabled people as inspirational when overcoming a disability.

   Ableist language frames people who have a disability as “afflicted with” or “suffering from” it, but they are simply people “with” a condition or illness that nondisabled people don’t have.

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Etymology

Origin of ableist language

First recorded in 1990–95