Writers need exact words for unkindness, so that readers can tell a sharp comment from a cruel one and a quiet snub from an open insult. This topic gives you those words. Knowing them helps you name what is happening, in a story or in real life, and choose better.
Key idea
Making someone seem small: belittle, demean, denigrate. Words that look down: derogatory and pejorative (a word with a negative slant). Disapproving: deprecate. Kinds of insult: an affront (open), a slight (often quiet), an aspersion (an attack on someone’s good name). And invidious: likely to stir up envy or seem unfair.
Many of these begin with de-, meaning down: they push someone down. Pejorative comes from the Latin for worse, and aspersion from a verb meaning to sprinkle, as if splashing mud on a name.
The ten words
Common mistake
deprecate (disapprove) is often confused with depreciate (lose value). A slight can be quiet: leaving someone out on purpose is a slight even if nothing is said.
| word | what it does | how loud |
|---|---|---|
| belittle / demean | makes someone seem small or low | can be quiet or loud |
| denigrate | runs down someone’s work or name | often public |
| derogatory / pejorative | describes insulting or negative words | depends on the word |
| deprecate | disapproves of; plays down | often polite |
| affront | an open insult | loud, to the face |
| slight | a snub, often by leaving out | quiet |
| aspersion | an attack on someone’s good name | behind the back |
Common mistake
deprecate (disapprove of, play down) is often confused with depreciate (lose value). A car depreciates as it ages; a modest person deprecates her own success. A slight can also be quiet: leaving someone out on purpose is a slight even if nothing is said.