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When a term begins as pejorative and eventually is adopted in a non-pejorative sense, this is called melioration or amelioration. One example is the shift in meaning of the word nice from meaning a person was foolish to meaning that a person is pleasant. [6] When performed deliberately, it is described as reclamation or reappropriation. [7]
The following is a list of religious slurs or religious insults in the English language that are, or have been, used as insinuations or allegations about adherents or non-believers of a given religion or irreligion, or to refer to them in a derogatory (critical or disrespectful), pejorative (disapproving or contemptuous), or insulting manner.
Oldster: [31] An offensive term that gained strong pejorative status during the COVID-19 pandemic; used to describe senior citizens affected by the pandemic. Old white man/men: A derogatory term for older white men usually in reference to that demographic's perceived disproportionate political power and higher rate of conservative belief. [32 ...
(Argentina) a derogatory term for Bolivians (bolita means little ball or marble) Bombay (Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, and Brunei) A person of Asian Indian (i.e., Hindi, etc.) descent Boofer (Hawaii) Polynesian word for African American Bougnoule (France) a pejorative term for Arab and North-African people Bozgor
The pejorative use of the word terrorist is a salient example, as definitions of the word terrorist may vary across cultures and even among individuals in the same culture. Typically, the word "terrorist" refers to one who uses violence and fear as a means to pursue political, religious or ideological aims.
This, however, does not apply to all such words as some were used in a derogatory fashion from the very beginning. [1] In terms of linguistic theory, reappropriation can be seen as a specific case of a type of a semantic change, namely, of amelioration – a process through which a word's meaning becomes more positive over time. [4]
In its classical form, despotism is a state in which a single individual (the despot) holds all the power and authority embodying the state, and everyone else is a subsidiary person. This form of despotism was common in the first forms of statehood and civilization ; the Pharaoh of Egypt is an exemplary figure of the classical despot.
Mob rule or ochlocracy or mobocracy is a pejorative term describing an oppressive majoritarian form of government controlled by the common people through the intimidation of more legitimate authorities.