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I am a non native (Indian) English speaker and I used the phrase "feature X is rudimentary" as matter of fact in a American office setting (chat;slack). Can it be construed in a negative manner ? i.e aggressive or accusatory?

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    What did you intend to mean? Any adjective can be pejorative if the other person didn't intend for it to have those qualities.
    – user430882
    Commented Aug 17, 2021 at 22:32
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    Saying that something is rudimentary is hardly a compliment, so: yes. Commented Aug 17, 2021 at 22:42
  • Elementary, my dear Watson.
    – Xanne
    Commented Aug 18, 2021 at 0:39

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I wouldn't call it complimentary, but it could be simply factual.

"Hey, I developed this prototype. It's still rudimentary, but you can see how a final product should work."

In that sentence, the state of the product is simply rudimentary, and it is neither a good nor bad thing. It simply is.

The negative connotation would come across in a dismissive tone. If the person worked really hard and thought that the feature was production-worthy, calling it "rudimentary" is slapping down their hard work. It could even be insulting if it's unfairly called "rudimentary," i.e. it may not be perfect, but it's hardly an incipient effort.

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  • The example used in this answer does not quite prove that the term has no negative implications, because it applies the term to something one has made oneself, and it is almost always OK to be self-deprecating, which involves speaking of oneself in terms in which it might be problematic to speak of others. Would you say to someone 'you developed this rudimentary prototype' or would you choose some other word, such as basic?
    – jsw29
    Commented Aug 18, 2021 at 16:11

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