pejorative

<font size="-1" face="arial, helvetica"> <p> <strong> <font color="#000066">Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for July 29, 2020 is:</font> </strong> </p> <p> <strong>pejorative</strong> &#149; \pih-JOR-uh-tiv\&nbsp; &#149; <em>adjective</em><br /> <p><strong>:</strong> having negative <a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/connotation">connotations</a>; <em>especially</em> <strong>:</strong> tending to <a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/disparage">disparage</a> or belittle <strong>:</strong> <a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/depreciatory">depreciatory</a></p> </p> <p> <strong>Examples:</strong><br /> <p>The captain has come under fire for making <em>pejorative</em> remarks about teammates.</p> <p>"There are only two ways to influence human behavior: you can manipulate it or you can inspire it. When I mention manipulation, this is not necessarily <em>pejorative</em>; it's a very common and fairly benign tactic." — <a href="https://www.google.com/books/edition/Start_with_why/fkOKDQAAQBAJ?hl=en&amp;gbpv=1&amp;dq=%22There+are+only+two+ways+to+influence+human+behavior%22&amp;pg=PA17&amp;printsec=frontcover">Simon Sinek, <em>Start with Why</em>, 2009</a></p> </p> <p> <strong>Did you know?</strong><br /> <p>"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 word <em>pejorative</em> makes it clear that both English and Latin speakers have long known that disparaging words can make a bad situation worse. <em>Pejorative</em> derives from the Late Latin adjective <em>pējōrātus</em>, which in turn comes from the Latin verb <em>pējōrāre</em>, meaning "to make or become worse." Although pejorative words have probably always been part of English, the adjective <em>pejorative</em> has only been found in English texts since the late 1880s. Before then, English speakers could rely on older synonyms of <em>pejorati