Évaluatif

Évaluatif is an adjective used to describe language that expresses an evaluation or value judgment about a person, object, or situation. In linguistics and discourse analysis, the term designates expressions whose primary function is to convey the speaker’s attitude, appraisal, or stance rather than to provide a neutral description of facts.

Expressions labeled evaluatif can take many forms, including adjectives, adverbs, nouns, and even phrases. They encode positive or negative valence and can vary in strength from mild to strong. Examples of evaluative items include forms such as remarquable, formidable, and positif (positive evaluations), as well as affreux, ridicule, and désastreux (negative evaluations). The evaluative force can act at the level of single words, as well as through context, tone, and intensifiers.

Evaluatif language is closely linked to subjectivity and stance. It signals the author’s or speaker’s attitude toward the subject and may influence the perception of the audience. This type of language can be contrasted with descriptive or neutral expressions, which aim to present information with minimal judgment, and with pejorative or valorising terms that explicitly condemn or praise.

In practice, the use of evaluatif expressions depends on genre and purpose, ranging from literary and journalistic prose to everyday speech. It often coexists with rhetorical devices, modality, and connotation, shaping how information is framed and interpreted. In lexicography and linguistics, evaluatif is used as a label to categorize words that primarily convey evaluation rather than objective description.