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melioration

 - 2 dictionary results

mel⋅io⋅ra⋅tion

  [meel-yuh-rey-shuhn, mee-lee-uh-]
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–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
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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mel·io·ra·tion   (mēl'yə-rā'shən, mē'lē-ə-)   
n.  

    1. The act or process of improving something or the state of being improved.

    2. An improvement.

  2. The linguistic process by which a word over a period of time grows more elevated in meaning or more positive in connotation.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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