Why “improperation” is a great word
IMPROPERATION — [Noun] A reproach; an instance of upbraiding or contumely. From Latin improperāre ("to reproach, upbraid"), from in- (intensive prefix) + properāre ("to hasten") + the English suffix -ation, forming a noun of action; first attested in English c. 1502. Unlike a "rebuke," which is a sharp but often formal censure, or an "admonition," a corrective warning, an improperation is a scornful taunt hurled with contempt. It is the hissed accusation in a crowded hall, the public and jeering catalog of a neighbor's failings, the scorching warmth of a cheek flush in a crowded room—language not to correct, but to scar, a fossilized piece of human spite, preserved in its most crystalline and unforgiving form.