Insulting or offensive words, usually targeting a person's race, ethnicity, religion, or other characteristic; also means to speak unclearly.
From Dutch or Low German 'sluur,' possibly related to 'slur' meaning 'to drag.' The modern sense developed in the 17th century, with the speaking sense coming first and the insulting sense developing later.
Linguists have found that slurs can damage how people see themselves—research shows that students exposed to ethnic slurs perform worse on tests, proving that words have real, measurable power on our brains and confidence.
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