pejorative

[ pi-jawr-uh-tiv, -jor-, pej-uh-rey-, pee-juh- ]

/ pɪˈdʒɔr ə tɪv, -ˈdʒɒr-, ˈpɛdʒ əˌreɪ-, ˈpi dʒə- /

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See synonyms for: pejorative / pejoratives on Thesaurus.com

adjective

having a disparaging, derogatory, or belittling effect or force: the pejorative affix -ling in princeling.

noun

a pejorative form or word, as poetaster.

OTHER WORDS FOR pejorative

1 deprecatory.

See synonyms for pejorative on Thesaurus.com

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Origin of pejorative

1880–85; <Latin pējōrāt(us) (see pejoration) + -ive

OTHER WORDS FROM pejorative

pe·jo·ra·tive·ly, adverbnon·pe·jo·ra·tive, adjectivenon·pe·jo·ra·tive·ly, adverbun·pe·jo·ra·tive, adjective

un·pe·jo·ra·tive·ly, adverb

Words nearby pejorative

Peipus, Peiraeus, Peiraievs, Peirce, pejoration, pejorative, pekan, peke, pekepoo, pekin, Peking

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2021

How to use pejorative in a sentence

The Senate bill, meanwhile, makes it a felony for many people to engage in “vote harvesting,” a pejorative term for picking up another person’s absentee ballot and taking it to a polling place.
The GOP voting bill that literally caused Texas Democrats to flee the state, explained|Ian Millhiser|July 13, 2021|Vox
The ridicule goes back to the very origins of the word ham, a pejorative that professional radio operators at the beginning of the 20th century used to single out amateurs with “ham-fisted” Morse-code skills.
Inside the Summit-Obsessed World of Ham Radio|Chase Brush|March 14, 2021|Outside Online
The entire Lifeline program has come under fire from opponents starting during the Obama administration, when it gained the pejorative nickname, “Obama phone.”
The FCC is about to undergo a huge shift that could drastically affect the internet|Stan Horaczek|January 22, 2021|Popular-Science
This is true not in a pejorative sense but in a statistical one, as in the average between high and low.
Remembering Alex Trebek, The Man With All The Answers|Oliver Roeder|November 9, 2020|FiveThirtyEight

At its most pejorative, the term describes a uniquely disposable kind of young gay man: Hairless, guileless, witless.
Inside Hollywood’s ‘Twink’ Pool Parties|Scott Bixby|April 19, 2014|DAILY BEAST
In Spanish the word joke (broma) is not at all pejorative, it is playful.
Isabel Allende’s Controversial New Thriller|Jane Ciabattari|February 23, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The late Andrew Breitbart even offered a $100,000 reward for audio or video of Lewis being called a racial pejorative.
Democrats Have Maxed Out the Race Card|Ron Christie|December 17, 2013|DAILY BEAST
“A Billy Collins poem” has even been used as a pejorative term in certain workshop settings.
Why Billy Collins Is America’s Most Popular Poet|Austen Rosenfeld|October 22, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Grossman is quick to point out that he does not consider the term “sheep” a pejorative.
In Defense of a Good Guy With a Gun|Brian Castner|April 28, 2013|DAILY BEAST
He consistently uses "Jew" as a pejorative adjective instead of "Jewish."
Nina Balatka|Anthony Trollope
But given its age and its purpose this ought not to be construed in the contemporary, pejorative sense.
Diego Collado's Grammar of the Japanese Language|Diego Collado
This term is a pejorative which may be applied also to the exercise of our other senses.
The Natural Philosophy of Love|Remy de Gourmont
Alternatively, Professor A. Dalzell points out to me that illa could have a pejorative sense.
The Last Poems of Ovid|Ovid

British Dictionary definitions for pejorative

pejorative

/ (pɪˈdʒɒrətɪv, ˈpiːdʒər-) /

adjective

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

noun

a pejorative word, expression, etc

Derived forms of pejorative

pejoratively, adverb

Word Origin for pejorative

C19: from French péjoratif, from Late Latin pējōrātus, past participle of pējōrāre to make worse, from Latin pēior worse

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

pejorative

OTHER WORDS FOR pejorative

Origin of pejorative

OTHER WORDS FROM pejorative

Words nearby pejorative

Words related to pejorative

How to use pejorative in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for pejorative

Derived forms of pejorative

Word Origin for pejorative