Timeline for Can the word "special" have a negative connotation?
Current License: CC BY-SA 3.0
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| when toggle format | what | by | license | comment | |
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| Jul 27, 2011 at 21:56 | comment | added | Kalamane | Not to mention the highly publicized Special Olympics. That's when I first heard it as an insult. | |
| Jul 27, 2011 at 21:15 | comment | added | Kate Gregory | I saw the same thing with "Reactive" - it was at first used to explain that a patient's angry responses were a reaction to something, even if the nurse thought they were out of line, to put the nurse in the patients shoes. It now means "inappropriate and angry" in most medical contexts. This is just something that happens when you try to use a nice word to describe something that others find not-nice. | |
| Jul 27, 2011 at 18:30 | comment | added | KeithS | You will usually find euphemisms coined that differentiate from the use of the term. I most often hear the term "exceptional" from your example in the positive sense, but "marginally exceptional" carries the negative. You're right, though, any word that carries the connotation of "singling out" the subject can be positive or negative, depending on the reason behind their being singled out. | |
| Jul 27, 2011 at 14:24 | history | answered | Monica Cellio | CC BY-SA 3.0 |