pejoration

[pej-uh-rey-shuhn, pee-juh-]

noun

1. depreciation; a lessening in worth, quality, etc.

2. Historical Linguistics.,  semantic change in a word to a lower, less approved, or less respectable meaning.

pejoration

/ ˌpiːdʒəˈreɪʃən /

noun

1. linguistics semantic change whereby a word acquires unfavourable connotations Compare amelioration

   the English word ``silly'' changed its meaning from ``holy'' or ``happy'' by pejoration

2. the process of worsening; deterioration

Word History and Origins

Origin of pejoration¹

1650–60; < Medieval Latin pējōrātiōn- (stem of pējōrātiō ) a making worse, equivalent to Late Latin pējōrāt ( us ) (past participle of pējōrāre to make worse, derivative of pējor worse) + -iōn- -ion

Example Sentences

As a recent episode of the podcast Very Bad Words explains, the word has undergone “pejoration” since its inception, or a shift from neutral to negative.

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The process of pejoration may take place below the level of consciousness, but in historical perspective, the direction of travel is obvious.

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A colleague on the news desk, the subeditor James Eagle, says using “woman” as an adjective is “somewhere between a hypercorrection and pejoration, plus a dollop of condescending sexism masquerading as chivalry.”

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Pejoration, pē-jō-rā′shun, n. a becoming worse: deterioration.—v.i.

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I hope that these baths may arrest the disagreeable tendency to pejoration from which I have suffered in the past year.

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