[3] The process of pejoration can repeat itself around a single concept, leaping from word to word in a phenomenon known as the euphemism treadmill, for example as in the successive pejoration of the terms bog-house, privy-house, latrine, water closet, toilet, bathroom, and restroom (US English).
[4][5] When a term begins as pejorative and eventually is adopted in a non-pejorative sense, this is called melioration or amelioration.
[7] Examples of a word that has been reclaimed by portions of the community that it targets is queer, faggot and dyke which began being re-appropriated as a positive descriptor in the early 1990s by activist groups.
[8] However, due to its history and – in some regions – continued use as a pejorative, there remain LGBT individuals who are uncomfortable with having this term applied to them.
[9] The use of the racial slur nigger (specifically the -a variant) by African Americans is often viewed as another act of reclamation, though much like the latter in the LGBT movement, there exists a vocal subset of people with Sub-Saharan African descent that object to the use of the word under any circumstances.