as in insulting
intended to make a person or thing seem of little importance or value
the reviewer used the pejorative word "versifier" to refer to the writer, whose poems had struck a responsive chord with the general public
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Recent Examples of pejorative
Video clips — altered in some instances — together with other visual and audio clips presented out of context have led to inappropriate clinical diagnoses and pejorative terms being used to characterize the opponents.
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Anand Kumar, STAT, 25 June 2024
In the years since the encounter was disclosed, Daniels has emerged as a vocal Trump antagonist, sharing her story innumerable times and criticizing the former president with mocking and pejorative jabs.
—Michael R. Sisak, Fortune, 8 May 2024
In the years since the encounter was disclosed, Daniels has emerged as a vocal Trump antagonist, sharing her story in a book and on television and criticizing and the former president with mocking and pejorative jabs.
—TIME, 7 May 2024
For whatever reason, a pejorative implication always shrouded decoration in the modern era — even around such an important artist as Matisse.
—Christopher Knight, Los Angeles Times, 16 Feb. 2024
See all Example Sentences for pejorative 
Anand Kumar, STAT, 25 June 2024
In the years since the encounter was disclosed, Daniels has emerged as a vocal Trump antagonist, sharing her story innumerable times and criticizing the former president with mocking and pejorative jabs.
—Michael R. Sisak, Fortune, 8 May 2024
In the years since the encounter was disclosed, Daniels has emerged as a vocal Trump antagonist, sharing her story in a book and on television and criticizing and the former president with mocking and pejorative jabs.
—TIME, 7 May 2024
For whatever reason, a pejorative implication always shrouded decoration in the modern era — even around such an important artist as Matisse.
—Christopher Knight, Los Angeles Times, 16 Feb. 2024
See all Example Sentences for pejorative
Recent Examples of Synonyms for pejorative
Adjective
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Arizona State football fans slam 'truly insulting' College Football Playoff graphic Winter swoon: December has not been kind to Phoenix Suns in recent years The vehicle backed out of the driveway and into the road.Olivia Rose, The Arizona Republic, 13 Dec. 2024
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The dawning of his second term has invoked jubilation from those who welcome Trump back to the Oval Office and fear from those alarmed by his insulting rhetoric about political opponents, the media, migrants and others.Alexandria Burris, The Indianapolis Star, 14 Nov. 2024
Adjective
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All 15 students were arrested last month for allegedly punching, kicking, spitting on and calling a man derogatory names after luring him into an off-campus apartment on Oct. 15 under false pretenses, according to Salisbury police.Nicole Acevedo, NBC News, 8 Dec. 2024
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The upcoming changes are part of nationwide efforts to examine and replace derogatory terms on geographic features.CNN.com Wire Service, The Mercury News, 18 Nov. 2024
Adjective
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Four vulnerabilities in WebKit were fixed in iOS 18.2, allowing memory corruption if you were persuaded to interact with malicious web content.Kate O'Flaherty, Forbes, 12 Dec. 2024
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The best way to safeguard yourself from malicious links that install malware, potentially accessing your private information, is to have strong antivirus software installed on all your devices.Kurt Knutsson, CyberGuy Report, Fox News, 11 Dec. 2024
Adjective
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Even by his already demeaning standards, Trump's rallies and events have also taken a dark turn this fall.David Faris, Newsweek, 1 Nov. 2024
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Oz winces when Al throws him a big old necklace from the family jewel case; the gesture is completely demeaning.Andy Andersen, Vulture, 19 Sep. 2024
Adjective
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Prior to appearing on Cunningham's show on Monday, Huggins made more disparaging remarks about Xavier.Emily DeLetter, The Enquirer, 10 May 2023
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Will Smith was given the Golden Raspberry Awards’ lone non-disparaging prize, with Smith earning the Redeemer Award after landing an actual Oscar nod for his role in King RIchard; Nicolas Cage and Jamie Dornan were also considered for the quasi-honor.Daniel Kreps, Rolling Stone, 26 Mar. 2022
Adjective
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This subsided with unusual speed, however, as cricket fans took instead to sharing the self-deprecatory jokes coming over the border.The Economist, The Economist, 22 June 2019
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Philipps has acquired her 1-million-and-growing Instagram followers through her self-deprecatory humor, raw honesty and vulnerability.Sonja Haller, USA TODAY, 11 July 2018
Adjective
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Though the pollen gunk will pass, he's concerned by a contingent of Twitter trolls who've shared uncomplimentary reviews of his recent North American tour.Jordan Runtagh, PEOPLE.com, 21 Jan. 2022
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Neither party admitted to liability and each agreed to refrain from making disparaging, negative or uncomplimentary statements about the other, the document said.Lorraine Mirabella, Baltimore Sun, 29 July 2022
Adjective
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Trump didn’t go for broad appeal Fabrizio and his allies were openly contemptuous of efforts—in the primary and then the general—to reach more voters.Philip Elliott, TIME, 6 Dec. 2024
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The curious tension between the president’s sympathetic rhetoric and his administration’s more hostile actions has increased the risk that a contemptuous and irritated Russia will poke back in eastern Europe.Eliot A. Cohen, Foreign Affairs, 20 Jan. 2018
Articles Related to pejorative
Thesaurus Entries Near pejorative
Cite this Entry
“Pejorative.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pejorative. Accessed 18 Dec. 2024.
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