Tuesday, February 5, 2013

dyslogistic

dyslogistic \dis-luh-JIS-tik\, adjective:

conveying disapproval or censure; not complimentary or eulogistic.

She had forgotten for the moment the Captain's invidious and dyslogistic employment of the Greek alphabet.
-- Michael Innes, Appleby's Answer
One answer lies in a less well-known but equally important countertradition, the dyslogistic school of memoir written by former officials who present themselves as disillusioned innocents.
-- Jacob Heilbrunn, "Not My Fault," The New York Times Sunday Book Review, June 22, 2008

Dyslogistic grew to prominence in the early 1800s, by applying the negative prefix dys- to a (eu)logistic expression of praise in speech or writing.

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