DETERIORATION

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DETERIORATION.
1. An emotive term for LANGUAGE CHANGE seen as evidence of linguistic and social decline.

2. Also pejoration. A category of SEMANTIC CHANGE, in which the meaning of a word or phrase depreciates with time: crafty once meant ‘strong’ and now means ‘wily’; cunning once meant ‘knowledgeable’ and now means ‘clever in a sly way’. See PROGRESS AND DECAY IN LANGUAGE.

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