What term describes a word gaining a more positive meaning?

• A. Pejoration
• B. Euphemism
• C. Neosemic shift
• D. Amelioration

Answer: (D)

Amelioration is when a word's meaning shifts toward a more positive or favorable sense. The question asks for the term describing a word gaining a more positive meaning, so this is the best fit. For example, the word nice once meant foolish, but over time it came to mean pleasant or agreeable. That positive shift illustrates amelioration. The other terms don’t describe this directional improvement: pejoration is the opposite, meaning becomes more negative; euphemism is about using milder terms rather than the historical shift of meaning; neosemantic shift (neosemic shift) refers to creating new senses or new words, not the positive shift of an existing sense.