Condemnatory — A Vocabulary Story
Oscar's Two Signs
Every Saturday, Oscar and his mum walked to the park, and every Saturday there was litter under the big oak tree. Sweet wrappers. Crisp packets. One very lonely flip flop.
"This is not right," said Oscar.
So he made a sign. He used his thickest black pen and a big piece of card, and he wrote the most condemnatory words he could think of.
Condemnatory means showing strong disapproval of something or saying that it is wrong.
It said: Litter is disgraceful. Put it in the bin. No excuses.
His mum looked at it carefully. "That is very condemnatory," she said. "Do you think it will work?"
They tied it to the bench. But the next Saturday, there was even more litter, and somebody had stuck a gum wrapper right over the word disgraceful.
Oscar sat on the bench and thought about it.
"Maybe people do not like grumpy signs," said his mum.
So Oscar made a new sign. This one had a big smile and a picture of a happy bin with arms. It said: Hello! I am the friendliest bin in the park. Please give me your crisp packets. I love them.
He tied it next to the bin, and he carried his condemnatory sign home under his arm.
The next Saturday, the grass under the oak tree was clear. There was not a wrapper anywhere. Somebody had even added a little heart to the happy bin's sign.
"It worked," said Oscar.
"It did," said his mum. "Although your first sign was very good too. Very cross, but good."
When they got home, Oscar stuck his old condemnatory sign on the fridge. He still agreed with every word of it. He just thought the bin was better at saying it.
Word Definition
condemnatory
meaning
expressing strong disapproval or blame
synonyms
disapproving · censorious · denunciatory · critical
antonyms
approving · laudatory
example sentence
The head teacher wrote a condemnatory letter about the litter left in the playground.