A word or phrase is pejorative or derogatory (sometimes misspelled perjorative) if it expresses contempt or disapproval; dyslogistic (noun: dyslogism) is used synonymously (antonyms: meliorative, eulogistic, noun eulogism). Dyslogisms such as "pea-brain" and "bottom-feeder" are words and phrases essentially pejorative by their nature. Although pejorative means much the same thing as disparaging, the latter term may be applied to a look or gesture as well as to spoken language— in the evocative languages of gesture, it is not easy to distinguish a disparaging gesture from a dismissive or merely skeptical one, however. Antonyms (from the Greek words anti = against and onoma = name) are word pairs that are opposite in meaning, such as hot and cold, fat and thin, and up and down. ... Terms of disparagement are pejorative terms such as yid, kike, nigger, whore, slut, fag and queer whose use usually arouses painful feelings in the target, members of the targeted group or sympathizers. ... See mouse gesture for gestures in computing Military signalmen use hand and body gestures to direct flight operations aboard aircraft carriers. ... Skepticism (Commonwealth spelling: Scepticism) can mean: Philosophical skepticism - a philosophical position in which people choose to critically examine whether the knowledge and perceptions that they have are actually true, and whether or not one can ever be said to have absolutely true knowledge; or Scientific skepticism - a scientific, or practical...

Pejorative expressions that are not dyslogisms may also be used in a non-pejorative way, however, and determining the intent of the speaker is problematic— as with any implied meaning. Conversely, a common rhetorical ploy is to apply "pejorative" to a factual descriptor— as "toxic" might be applied to poison— and then decry it as "pejorative" to suit the agenda of those defending the substance as harmless.

Not every breath of criticism is pejorative: a "petty distinction" is indeed a petty distinction: in that case, the defender must demonstrate the authenticity and seriousness of the distinction, which may then be simply recognized as dismissive rather than pejorative.

Sometimes a term may begin as a pejorative word and eventually be adopted in a non-pejorative sense. This happened with the terms Quaker, Yankee and Ham radio operator, which were originally slang insults which came to be worn with pride. In other cases, some groups have attempted to reclaim formerly offensive words applied against them, with limited success: when usage of a term like nigger, redneck, "white cracker", dyke, queer, faggot, tranny, pervert, Kraut, or cripple by someone outside the group is still considered offensive, that is a sign this process of neutralization is uncompleted. The Religious Society of Friends, commonly known as Quakers, or Friends, is a religious community founded in England in the 17th century. ... The term Yankee has a variety of meanings. ... Amateur radio, commonly called ham radio, is a hobby enjoyed by many people throughout the world (as of 2004 about 3 million worldwide, 60,000 in UK, 70,000 in Germany, 5,000 in Norway, 57,000 in Canada, and 700,000 in the USA). ... Slang is the non-standard use of words in a language of a particular social group, and sometimes the creation of new words or importation of words from another language. ... The following is a list of ethnic slurs, also known as ethnophaulisms, that are, or have been, used to refer to members of a given ethnicity (or, in some cases, nationality, region, or religion) in a derogatory or pejorative manner. ... The word nigger is a highly controversial term used in many countries, including the US, Canada, Britain, Australia and Russia, to refer to individuals with dark skin, especially those of indigenous African descent who previously were racially classified by the now outdated term Negro. ... In modern usage, redneck predominantly refers to a particular stereotype of whites from the Southern United States. ... White cracker, or simply cracker, was originally a pejorative term for a white person mainly used by blacks in the Southern United States, a usage that is now somewhat archaic. ... A lesbian (lowercase L) is a homosexual woman. ... Queer means unusual, and is controversial, although commonly used in a non-offensive manner [see below] as an adjective or noun for people whose sexual orientation and/or gender identity are counter to societal norms. ... Faggot derivies through the French language fagot from the Latin facus, meaning a bundle (see fascies), the English language word being attested from the 13th century in the meaning of a bundle of sticks or branches, usually bound together. ... A transsexual (sometimes transexual) person establishes a permanent identity with the opposite gender to their assigned (usually at birth) sex. ... Perversion is a derogatory term for deviation from the original meaning or doctrine, literally turning aside from what is perceived to be orthodox or normal. ... The German word Kraut is a generic term that is often used in compound nouns for cabbage, cabbage products and many herbs: Weißkraut = green cabbage Blaukraut or Rotkraut = red cabbage Sauerkraut The word is almost never used alone, but the plural form, Kräuter, translates to the English herbs... See also: Handicap (competition) Handicapped is an adjective used to refer to a person or animal who is partially disabled or unable to use a limb or limbs. ...

Conversely, a neutral (non-pejorative) term may grow to become pejorative: the term retard, to refer to a person whose mental capacity is permanently held back from development, was originally used as a euphemism, as had been moron before, itself a euphemism for idiot, in order to avoid true dyslogisms like feebleminded, and half-witted. But it quickly grew to have a pejorative sense of its own. This same progression, from neutral to pejorative, may be happening with the words challenged and special, used in the same sense, today. Language writer Steven Pinker has called this process "the euphemism treadmill." Mental retardation is a term for a pattern of persistently slow learning of basic motor and language skills (milestones) during childhood, and a significantly below-normal intellectual capacity as an adult. ... A euphemism is a word or phrase used in place of a term that originally could not be spoken aloud (see taboo) or, by extension, terms which the speaker considers to be disagreeable or offensive. ... Moron: Slang term for person with mental retardation The supposed force carrier which keeps the element Administratium together. ... Feeble-minded was a term used from the late 19th century through the early 20th century to loosely describe a variety of mental deficiencies, including what would now be considered mental retardation in its various types and grades, and learning disabilities such as dyslexia. ... Steven Pinker (born September 18, 1954, in Montreal, Canada) is a psychologist at Harvard University and a writer of popular science books. ... A euphemism is a word or phrase used in place of a term that originally could not be spoken aloud (see taboo) or, by extension, terms which the speaker considers to be disagreeable or offensive. ...

Since meanings change over time, consult an up-to-date dictionary for information on specific words.

Etymology

Unrelated to perjury, pejorative comes from the Latin pejoratus, "made worse," and made a surprisingly late entry in written English, 1882, probably deriving from a contemporary French usage, péjoratif. [1]  (http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?l=p&p=8). It is so frequently misspelled as perjorative that the Oxford English Dictionary website (http://www.askoxford.com/) contains a faq entry (http://www.askoxford.com/asktheexperts/faq/aboutspelling/perjorative) about this misspelling. Perjury is lying or making verifiable false statements under oath in a court of law. ... Latin - Wikipedia /**/ @import /skins/monobook/IE50Fixes. ... The Oxford English Dictionary (OED) is a comprehensive multi-volume dictionary published by the Oxford University Press (OUP). ...

See also

• list of ethnic slurs
• list of pejorative political slogans
• list of sexual slurs