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pejorative

1 of 2

noun

pe·jo·ra·tivepi-ˈjȯr-ə-tiv How to pronounce pejorative (audio)

-ˈjär-,

also ˈpe-jə-rə-tiv,

or ˈpē-,

or -ˌrā-,

or ˈpej-rə-,

or ˈpēj-

Synonyms ofpejorative next

:a word or phrase that has negative connotations (seeconnotationsense 1) or that is intended todisparage or belittle:a pejorative word or phrase

pejorative

2 of 2

adjective

pe·jo·ra·tivepi-ˈjȯr-ə-tiv How to pronounce pejorative (audio)

-ˈjär-,

also ˈpe-jə-rə-tiv,

or ˈpē-,

or -ˌrā-,

or ˈpej-rə-,

or ˈpēj-

:having negative connotations (seeconnotationsense 1)

especially:tending todisparage or belittle:depreciatory

pejorativelyadverb

Did you know?

"If you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all." Parents have given that good advice for years, but unfortunately many people haven't heeded it. The wordpejorative makes it clear that both English and Latin speakers have long known that disparaging words can make a bad situation worse.Pejorative derives from the Late Latin adjectivepējōrātus, which in turn comes from the Latin verbpējōrāre, meaning "to make or become worse." Although pejorative words have probably always been part of English, the adjectivepejorative has only been found in English texts since the late 1880s. Before then, English speakers could rely on older synonyms ofpejorative such asderogatory anduncomplimentary to describe disparaging words.

Synonyms

Adjective

See All Synonyms & Antonyms in Thesaurus

Examples ofpejorative in a Sentence

AdjectiveChildren born with an extra chromosome 21 are healthy, conspicuously happy and destined to live for many years. But they are not considered, in thatpejorative word, 'normal'.—

Matt Ridley,Genome,1999

The wordbarbarian was used by the Greeks, to designate an alien, and therefore, by definition, someone inferior in culture to a Hellene. The Romans applied this in thepejorative sense to the people who came to live along the Rhine-Danube frontier.—

Norman F. Cantor,The Civilization of the Middle Ages,1993

On occasion they expressed a preference for the terms Latino or Hispanic if that would assist them in escaping from the term Puerto Rican, which became, at times, almostpejorative.—

John Hope Franklin,"The Land of Room Enough,"1981,inRace and History, 1989

a word withpejorative connotations the reviewer used thepejorative word “versifier” to refer to the writer, whose poems had struck a responsive chord with the general public

Recent Examples on the Web

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage.Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.Send us feedback.

Noun

The r-word, initially, was meant to replace words that had becomepejoratives.—

Scottie Andrew,CNN Money, 31 May 2025But before long, the term had been repurposed by those outside of that initial community for use as apejorative.—

Mikelle Street,Them., 1 May 2025

Adjective

Wife guy, always a little mocking, curdled into the plainlypejorative.—

Jeremy Gordon,The Atlantic, 9 June 2025The frequent Trump epithet losers would be a suitablypejorativemodern equivalent.—

Graham Robb,The Atlantic, 9 June 2025See All Example Sentences forpejorative

Word History

Etymology

Noun

noun derivative ofpejorativeentry 2

Adjective

borrowed from New Latinpējōrātīvus, from Late Latinpējōrātus, past participle ofpējōrāre "to make worse, aggravate" (derivative of Latinpējor "inferior, worse," going back to*ped-yos-, comparative of*ped-, extracted from*ped-tu- "a fall, falling") + Latin-īvus-ive — more atpessimism

First Known Use

Noun

1882, in the meaning definedabove

Adjective

circa 1888, in the meaning definedabove

Time Traveler

The first known use ofpejorative was in 1882

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