AQA A-level English Language – Language Change Practice Test

The idea being tested is how the positive or negative value attached to a word shifts over time. Amelioration is when a word takes on a more positive or favorable sense, sometimes extending to new contexts. Pejoration is the opposite: the word develops a more negative or disapproving sense. Classic examples help make this clear: "nice" once meant foolish, but now means pleasant; "awful" once meant full of awe, but now means terrible. A word like "sick" also shows amelioration when used in slang to mean excellent. So the statement that exactly captures this is that amelioration involves gaining a more positive meaning, while pejoration involves gaining a more negative meaning. Descriptions that talk about losing meaning, or about becoming more formal or about SAMPLEbroader/narrower scope, describe different kinds of semantic change and don’t capture the specific positive/negative shift these terms describe.