pejorative
pih-JOR-uh-tivadjMeaning showing disapproval; giving a word a negative slant
Memory hook PEJOR = WORSE: NOSY, not curious. Lila calls the sniffing puppy “curious”; Aunt Greta calls it “nosy.” Same puppy, but nosy is the pejorative word: it makes things sound worse.
“Cheap” is a pejorative way of saying “thrifty.”
In context Calling the old car a “jalopy” is pejorative: the word makes the very same car sound shabby and worthless.
Similar disparaging, derogatory, negative, disapproving
Opposite complimentary, approving, positive
From Latin peior, “worse.”