All Questions
Tagged with derogatory or pejorative-language
632 questions
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Are abbreviated demonyms such as "Indon", "Viet", and "Bangla" derogatory in the white countries?
In Singapore, one often refers to "Indons", "Viets", "Banglas", and "Japs" (persons from Indonesia, Viet Nam, Bangladesh, and Japan).
I understand that "...
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0
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160
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What do you call someone who doesn't like celebrating holidays?
The answer doesn't have to be specific to any religion or faith group, or even any calendar whether it's the Gregorian calendar or any others. I was thinking about similar words like scrooge or humbug ...
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1
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0
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60
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Amusing historical nicknames for the patent office?
I'm looking for amusing (including disparaging) nicknames for the USPTO that can be traced back to an historical primary source, including but not limited to famous inventors such as Thomas Edison or ...
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6
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Is there a phrase for someone who's really bad at cooking?
I'm looking for a phrase that describes someone who's really bad at cooking, similar to 'green fingers' for someone who's good at gardening. There doesn't seem to be any such phrase from a Google ...
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5
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2k
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Do linguists have a noun for referring to pieces of commendatory language, as a sort of antonym of 'pejoratives'?
As I understand it, linguists (and the rest of us) call pieces of derogatory or negatively-valenced language ‘pejoratives’. But is there a similar term for pieces of commendatory or positively-...
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4
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1
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Verbs or other words used just for animals
I've noticed there's a verb fressen in German whose meanings include "to eat" but it has an animal sense, i.e. ich esse, but Mein Hund fresse. Which leads me to ask these questions:
Are ...
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5
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2
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343
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What is the city equivalent of 'hillbilly hell"?
As you may have already known, and for those of you who don't know, hillbilly hell is a term used to mock the countryside in the USA, with all of its perceived flaws (insular, racist, decaying ...). ...
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What is the origin of the Australian slang “pommers” to refer to English people? [duplicate]
What is the origin of the Australian slang “pommers” to refer to English people?
(I’m uncertain as to the spelling)
Why is this the term that is used?
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2
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96
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Is there a way to find out if a word is commendatory, derogatory/pejorative, or either? [closed]
Is there a way to find out if a word is commendatory, derogatory / pejorative, or either? Does any dictionary say that out explicitly, instead of requiring users to infer from the given senses?
For ...
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3
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Is it normal for women, or American women to use the word c*nt? Especially on public streams? [closed]
There is a particular Twitch streamer from a video game I played, MermaidonTap. If you subscribed and follow her, not all but most of her public streams, she uses "fuck" and a lot of the ...
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What do you call someone who is being mean, but sounds and looks like they are being nice? [closed]
What do you call it when someone is being back-handed in a way that looks and sounds nice outrightly but is intended to be mean? Passive-aggressive is too obvious.
The equivalent to
Bless her heart.
...
- 21
1
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4
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225
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What's a formal-noun that means an unprincipled, unpleasant person?
I am trying to find a word that can be used in formal situations for referring to an unprincipled, unpleasant person. I'm looking for a more formal or civil way to say this, rather than the uncivil “...
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1
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What do you call a person who is resistant to new technology [duplicate]
Does a word exist that describes someone who is either
a) resistant to,
b) afraid of,
or
c) refuses to learn
new technology?
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1
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Is there a single word meaning "a repulsive or loathsome person"?
Does the English language have any words in present use that would be synonymous with the figurative sense of the now obsolete mesel, 'a repulsive or loathsome person'?
I am well aware of the tons of ...
- 10.3k
2
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1
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798
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Is 'peasant' generally considered derogatory?
Is peasant when used in general to describe a modern socioeconomic class considered to be derogatory?
Apparently there is no issue when talking about European history...
I read in the Brtitannica ...
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0
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What word would best describe this scenario (giving a true but evasive answer)? [duplicate]
What could be the word to best describe this following scenario:
Parent 1: Why did you give the child a high-sugar drink when I specifically asked you not too?
Parent 2: It's fine everybody, the ...
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6
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“pig book” – when, where & why has a booklet of college students with photos been called a “pig book”?
I’m wondering
how widespread geographically and in time was the usage
of calling a paper “face book”
(list of 1st year college students with photos, hometown & dorm room)
a “pig book”, and
what ...
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1
answer
195
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When an African-American hero says 'enough already, you are asking too much of me'
Is there a phrase that expresses the rebellion of the "native" troops protesting yet another battle against daunting odds when they have already proven themselves to be beyond compare...
...
2
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1
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83
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Grants distribution but with pejorative connotation [closed]
Is there a bitter phrase that signals pejorative connotations when talking about grants distribution? Unfortunately, grants system is not perfect and can be abused by irresponsible people who suck-up ...
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1
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3
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492
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Less politically problematic alternative to 'princess' or 'snowflake'
I'm looking for a word to use in a self-deprecating context meaning 'overly sensitive or precious'.
I ordinarily might say:
I'm going to sound like a princess here
or
I'm going to be a snowflake ...
- 11.3k
13
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3
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6k
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Is the phrase "stone-throwing devil" actually a slur?
Inspired by this question.
What is the etymology of the phrase "stone-throwing devil"? Is there any evidence that it has been used as either a racial or religious slur historically or in ...
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3
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When and why did "the Dutch act" emerge as a slang term for suicide?
J.E. Lighter, Random House Historical Dictionary of American Slang (1994) provides this entry for "Dutch act":
Dutch act n. Und[erworld] suicide.—constr[ued] with the. [Earliest cited ...
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2
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1
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179
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What is a British English equivalent to 'Fussbudget'?
Lucy from Charles Schultz's Peanuts strip is often described as a 'fussbudget', for example here: 'Lucy: Fussbudget to Feminist'. What is a British English equivalent to 'fussbudget'?
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1
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407
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Is Jester word derogatory? [closed]
Jester means professional fool. Fool is a bad word. Is Jester word derogatory?
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1
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2k
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What is an appropriate word that describes someone who gets others to do things when they could easily do them themselves? [duplicate]
I'm trying to pin down a word or phrase that concisely describes a person who intentionally gets other people to do things for them that they could easily do themselves, as a form of either conscious ...
9
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2
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1k
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What's the origin of this expression recorded in Louisiana, 1867?
From Freedmen's Bureau records as excerpted in Sterling's brilliant We Are Your Sisters:
Emmeline Ellaby jumped out of the cotton and called them damned bitches and said that everyone of them damned ...
- 147
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1
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123
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Expression describing code written by inexperienced, lazy and untalented developers
One of my characters is a young graduate student who leaves her adviser. He takes her research code and he gets his other students to use it, not forgetting to say all sorts of mean things about her ...
- 1,133
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What is the meaning of gim boy?
I received an e-mail from Spotify Customer Support a few months ago. They ended the email with the following:
"Looking forward to hearing from you. Let us know if you have other questions or ...
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12
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A possibly modern derogatory term for housewife
I need a derogatory term for housewife. I couldn't find any in online dictionaries and I'm not sure I have ever heard of any in any language I'm familiar with.
But I'm thinking there must be something ...
- 1,133
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1
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532
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On a certain pejorative in contemporary British English
According to the OED https://www.oed.com/viewdictionaryentry/Entry/67623) "faggot" and "fag", used to refer to gay men in a derogatory way are "originally and chiefly North ...
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3
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201
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Olden pejorative/word for a "fancy-pants"
What word would someone around the era of the Wild West (1850) use to describe a "posh fancy-pants"? I see that "fancy-pants" first known usage was in the twentieth century, so it'...
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What are the differences between Vitriol, Vituperation, and Invective?
I am having a really hard time seeing the nuanced differences between these three synonyms, especially vituperation and vitriol. I saw from my research that invective is used in more formal context ...
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11
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3k
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Difference in meaning between “elderly” and "old"?
Advice being given because of the COVID-19 pandemic, includes the word “elderly”.
I know someone aged 77 who does not feel elderly but does admit to being old.
Is there more of a negative ...
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3
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932
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Is prolific an approving word or neutral word? [closed]
I thought it was an approving word which is used to describe the diligence of a producer or artist and therefore the abundance of their productivity.Then I just knew that it can also be used to ...
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2
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508
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What is the negative connotation of 'great'?
We call a well known actor, a 'famous' actor.
Yet a well known criminal is called a 'notorious' criminal.
In similar vein, a popular leader would be called a 'great' leader.
But what would you call ...
2
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2
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254
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Is there a term for a group 'owning' a previous insult?
Is there a term or word for the process of a group of people taking (or attempting to) an insulting word/phrase and making it their own? I'm thinking about something more than normalization or ...
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2
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586
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Do "developing countries" and "underdeveloped countries" have derogatory connotations?
Is there any derogatory or negative connotation with the words "developing countries" and "underdeveloped countries"? Should I avoid using them?
I read somewhere, don't remember where, that they ...
- 3,462
2
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1
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258
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Why is "lousy" pronounced like "louzy"? [duplicate]
As "lousy" is a pejorative for someone or something being infested with lice, why is it pronounced with a "z" instead of an "s" sound?
OTOH, when a person is called a "louse," the "s" sound is used.
...
-1
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1
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119
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"fat" as an insult
Much ado is being made about the spirited exchange between Joe Biden and some corpulent guy in Iowa that took him to task about his son's dealings with some Ukrainian company.
Biden's supposed to ...
- 1,756
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0
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1k
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What did "John Boy" mean (as an insult) in New Zealand around 1977?
According to the records of the New Zealand Parliament, "John Boy" was considered unparliamentary language in 1977. What did the phrase mean though, back then, over there? Urban dictionary seems say ...
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0
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Looking for a word for a coward who claims credit for the heroic acts of others
Someone who doesn't do anything required or expected but takes credit for having performed heroic deeds.
I have considered 'cowardly', but it doesn't convey the complete meaning.
An example ...
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14
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4
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7k
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Is "Fredo" an insult to Italian-Americans?
Recently in the news there's been some kerfuffle about a verbal exchange between CNN anchorman, Chris Cuomo, and a person who called him “Fredo”. In the cell-phone video, the man claims
I thought ...
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defamation, slander, libel, ...?
German law has three distinct terms in the context of insulting a person:
§ 185, Beleidigung -- Insulting a person. This covers e.g. flipping somebody off in traffic, calling somebody names etc.
§ ...
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1
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Is “girl” a valid synonym for “young woman”?
This question emerged out of a discussion on Mastodon about Ivanka Trump being called a girl, where it was claimed that “girl' is synonymous with 'young woman' in English”.
Is this true?
Is it sexism ...
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1
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2
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147
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Word for reminder of inconvenient truths
What do you call a person who constantly tells others things they don't want to hear even though it's true? (Maybe even revels in their dismay)
Something along the lines of Person A telling Person B ...
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3
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704
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Why is "modish" a derogatory word?
"Modish" appears as a derogatory word on Dictionary.com/Oxford website Lexico: https://www.lexico.com/en/definition/modish
Do you know why this is the case? Is the word often used in derogatory ...
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1
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908
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Is Autistic the new "spaz" or "retard"?
Has autistic become an accepted cool pejorative through constant misuse?
While I usually would not bother with Urban, the theme was taken up…
Autism is typically said with a negative connotation. ...
2
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3
answers
391
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What is a concentration camp exactly? Are US detention centers on the US-Mexico border "concentration camps"?
There is a hot "debate" on Twitter regarding whether the detention centers used by the US border patrol to detain/hold immigrants can be called "concentration camps" or not. ...
- 2,235
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1
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2k
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Why do people seem to get so triggered at the word "plebeians"? [closed]
While having online conversations people seem to get triggered when the word plebeian is used to describe the commoners or common people. They seem to think its bad or something.
What's wrong in ...
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1
answer
1k
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Is effervescent a pejorative when describing a person [closed]
My colleagues and I have been talking about whether or not "effervescent" is a pejorative when used to describe someone.
To provide context, one of the people who works in my office is a high-energy ...
- 41