New answers tagged pejorative-language
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Is there a way to find out if a word is commendatory, derogatory/pejorative, or either?
Your own experience seems to provide the answer to your general question: there is no single source for such context-dependent information.
As to your specific question, astute is not used as ...
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Is there a way to find out if a word is commendatory, derogatory/pejorative, or either?
Astute means on-the-mark; intelligent; savvy. I've not heard it used as a negative, but as another user said it's all in the delivery and any compliment can become an insult if you use it with ...
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What does this insult mean? "Your wife, sir, under the pretense of keeping a bawdy house, is a receiver of stolen goods"
This retort was found in a joke book that was published before Boswell was born, but Boswell was "so desperate for material that he was too accepting of material he was provided." Boswell ...
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