What does "pejorate" mean?

To become or make (something) worse; to deteriorate, to worsen.

What is a synonym for "pejorate"?

Common synonyms include: worsen, aggravate, go left, go south, go wrong, suffer.

How do you pronounce "pejorate"?

Pronounced //ˈpiːdʒəɹeɪt//.

Pejorate

//ˈpiːdʒəɹeɪt// verb

verb ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Verb

1
To become or make (something) worse; to deteriorate, to worsen. ambitransitive
"You do not appear to me to recognize the gravity of your situation, or you would be more careful not to pejorate the same by words which glance upon the purity of justice."

Synonyms

All synonyms

worsen aggravate go left go south go wrong suffer

Antonyms

All antonyms

devolve embetter improve

Example

More examples

"You do not appear to me to recognize the gravity of your situation, or you would be more careful not to pejorate the same by words which glance upon the purity of justice."

Etymology

From Latin peiōrāt-, the participle stem of peiorō (“make worse”), from peior (“worse”).

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.