ableist language

[ ey-buhl-ist lang-gwij ]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

noun

words and phrases that devalue disabled people by using disability language or historical descriptions of disabilities as an insult:
You can make many small changes to minimize ableist language in your vocabulary, like saying a trend is “uncool” rather than calling it “lame.”
language that treats disability as something to be pitied or disabled people as inspirational when overcoming a disability:
Ableist language frames people who have a disability as “afflicted with” or “suffering from” it, but they are simply people “with” a condition or illness that nondisabled people don’t have.

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First recorded in 1990–95

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