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
About 1,000 schools continue use of pejorative mascots, according to the National Congress of American Indians.
—
Diana Lambdin Meyer, USA Today, 7 Nov. 2025
The intensity of Irish expressions of solidarity in 2024 caused one pro-Israel commentator, Ben Cohen, to coin the term Paddystinian as a derisive epithet to counter the narrative, conflating the pejorative stereotype of the drunken Paddy with Palestine.
—Philip Metres
august 27, Literary Hub, 27 Aug. 2025
In fact, locals use a different (and pejorative) term for the other versions: arroz con cosas, or rice with things.
—Sofia Perez, Forbes.com, 10 July 2025
Stuck a feather in his cap and called it macaroni is insulting because a macaroni was a pejorative term used to describe a fashionable man with feminine traits of 18th-century Britain.
—Kurt Snibbe, Oc Register, 2 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for pejorative
Diana Lambdin Meyer, USA Today, 7 Nov. 2025
The intensity of Irish expressions of solidarity in 2024 caused one pro-Israel commentator, Ben Cohen, to coin the term Paddystinian as a derisive epithet to counter the narrative, conflating the pejorative stereotype of the drunken Paddy with Palestine.
—Philip Metres
august 27, Literary Hub, 27 Aug. 2025
In fact, locals use a different (and pejorative) term for the other versions: arroz con cosas, or rice with things.
—Sofia Perez, Forbes.com, 10 July 2025
Stuck a feather in his cap and called it macaroni is insulting because a macaroni was a pejorative term used to describe a fashionable man with feminine traits of 18th-century Britain.
—Kurt Snibbe, Oc Register, 2 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for pejorative
Recent Examples of Synonyms for pejorative
Adjective
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Many researchers cite those exact words as insulting or wrong when asked about their own terminations.—
STAT Staff,
STAT,
29 Dec. 2025
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With two toddlers and a 10-hour workday for her husband, the advice was more insulting than helpful.—
Tereza Shkurtaj,
PEOPLE,
7 Dec. 2025
Adjective
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During the incident, the woman pushed him, shoved a shopping cart at him and made derogatory remarks, according to police.—
Ashley Vega,
PEOPLE,
13 Jan. 2026
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Reale joked that he’s been called plenty of derogatory names through the years by surfers in the water competing for waves.—
Laylan Connelly,
Oc Register,
13 Jan. 2026
Adjective
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Their faltering attempt at a total crackdown—which can’t muzzle the anger and bravery of ordinary people—and its general odor of malicious incompetence, is even seeping into the White House’s hermetic media echo chamber.—
James Folta,
Literary Hub,
29 Jan. 2026
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Just like the ClickFix attacks, this malicious trickery is all about running commands that almost all users would never think to do in normal circumstances.—
Zak Doffman,
Forbes.com,
29 Jan. 2026
Adjective
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Other Natives found the video demeaning when it was circulated.—
Ian Frazier,
New Yorker,
19 Jan. 2026
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That demeaning statement has proven both accurate and inaccurate, depending on the president’s relationship with the vice president, their skill set, experience, and political ambition.—
Myra Adams,
Washington Post,
9 Jan. 2026
Adjective
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Conservative pundit Meghan McCain blasted commentator Tucker Carlson after a guest on his podcast and online show this week made a disparaging remark about her weight.—
Dominick Mastrangelo,
The Hill,
5 Dec. 2025
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Emily’s father didn’t say it in a disparaging way—more like That was just Ryan.—
Jamie Thompson,
The Atlantic,
6 Nov. 2025
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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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
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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
Adjective
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Thompson, meanwhile, savors every contemptuous glare and hateful retort Anna regularly supplies.—
Ben Travers,
IndieWire,
8 Jan. 2026
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All of these flaws are conveniently overlooked by the purveyors of all of these instruments and done so in a way that is contemptuous of those who would contest it or even quibble with it.—
Jim Cramer,
CNBC,
30 Nov. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Pejorative.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pejorative. Accessed 31 Jan. 2026.
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