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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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of pejorative
This is not a pejorative question; as Harris’s wife says herself, and as the whole world saw in 2018, sometimes a deep-diving anesthetist can come in handy.
—
Damon Wise, Deadline, 31 Mar. 2025
While Bascombe is there, Adam alerts his dad to the pejorative meaning behind some emojis that Katie was sending to Jamie on Instagram, prompting the detective to start looking into whether Jamie might have been cyber-bullied.
—Olivia B. Waxman, TIME, 13 Mar. 2025
In conservative circles, the pejorative label stuck.
—Meg James, Los Angeles Times, 23 Dec. 2024
These asylum seekers came to be known as Vietnamese boat people, a name that has come to be regarded as pejorative — the sort of dehumanizing language often used in indexing immigrants.
—Brendan Quinn, The Athletic, 1 July 2024
See All Example Sentences for pejorative
Damon Wise, Deadline, 31 Mar. 2025
While Bascombe is there, Adam alerts his dad to the pejorative meaning behind some emojis that Katie was sending to Jamie on Instagram, prompting the detective to start looking into whether Jamie might have been cyber-bullied.
—Olivia B. Waxman, TIME, 13 Mar. 2025
In conservative circles, the pejorative label stuck.
—Meg James, Los Angeles Times, 23 Dec. 2024
These asylum seekers came to be known as Vietnamese boat people, a name that has come to be regarded as pejorative — the sort of dehumanizing language often used in indexing immigrants.
—Brendan Quinn, The Athletic, 1 July 2024
See All Example Sentences for pejorative
Recent Examples of Synonyms for pejorative
Adjective
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Now, however, Memrise charges $59.99 per month, which is insulting.—
PC Magazine,
PC Magazine,
16 Apr. 2025
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To compare the incident to a possible leak of a football game plan is insulting to the U.S. military members who secure and safeguard our personal freedom each and every day.—
Chicago Tribune,
Chicago Tribune,
1 Apr. 2025
Adjective
-
At least one European researcher who used his phone to communicate derogatory thoughts about the Trump Administration claims to have been refused entry to the U.S.—
Brian Niemietz,
New York Daily News,
14 Apr. 2025
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But Chen found the government’s arguments unpersuasive and found that numerous derogatory and false comments by Noem — and by Trump — against Venezuelans as criminals show that racial animus was a motivator in ending protections.—
Janie Har,
Los Angeles Times,
1 Apr. 2025
Adjective
-
These emails might include malicious links designed to install malware or steal login information.—
Kurt Knutsson, CyberGuy Report,
FOXNews.com,
16 Apr. 2025
-
Time to update: Apple has discovered hackers exploiting an iOS bug via malicious media files.—
Michael Kan,
PC Magazine,
16 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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The woman, along with her legal team, painted a picture of a violent man whose abusive cycles included demeaning text messages, physical harm, and threats.—
Anna Kaufman,
USA Today,
10 Apr. 2025
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Luck and the university fired coach Troy Taylor last week after ESPN reported that he was twice investigated for his demeaning treatment of staffers — particularly women.—
Michael Nowels,
Mercury News,
1 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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The 2023 Economic Report Of The President published in March of 2023 was relatively disparaging of cryptoassets and DLTs.—
Lawrence Wintermeyer,
Forbes,
5 Dec. 2024
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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
Adjective
-
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
-
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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According to an ancient Greek myth, all those who had fallen in love with the young man Narcissus were met with contemptuous rejection.—
Abigayle Ward,
Hartford Courant,
8 Mar. 2025
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The president was also profoundly contemptuous of women, kept his true opposition to female suffrage carefully hidden, and allowed the suffragists who silently held banners outside the White House to be repeatedly attacked by mobs, beaten, and jailed.—
Foreign Affairs,
Foreign Affairs,
25 Feb. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Pejorative.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pejorative. Accessed 25 Apr. 2025.
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