melioration - Definitions from Dictionary.com

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Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This

mel·io·ra·tion

Audio Help [meel-yuh-rey-shuh

n, mee-lee-uh-] Pronunciation Key

–noun

1.	Historical Linguistics. semantic change in a word to a more approved or more respectable meaning. Compare pejoration (def. 2).

2.	amelioration.

[Origin: 1620–30; < LL meliōrātiōn- (s. of meliōrātiō), equiv. to meliōrāt(us) (see meliorate) + -iōn- -ion

]

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
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melioration

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American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

mel·io·ra·tion Audio Help (mēl'yə-rā'shən, mē'lē-ə-) Pronunciation Key
n.

1. The act or process of improving something or the state of being improved.
2. An improvement.
The linguistic process by which a word over a period of time grows more elevated in meaning or more positive in connotation.

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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
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WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This

melioration
noun
1.	the act of relieving ills and changing for the better [syn: amelioration]
2.	a condition superior to an earlier condition; "the new school represents a great improvement" [syn: improvement] [ant: declination]
3.	the linguistic process in which over a period of time a word grows more positive in connotation or more elevated in meaning