Apparently ‘upliftment’ is a word – sorry. I’m still not entirely convinced, though. The OED lists about 6 references to it throughout the 20th century, each in a magazine:
1926 Brit. Weekly 15 Apr. 46/3 Native women of the educated class might be potent influences in the upliftment and betterment of their people. 1973 Caribbean Contact Feb. 11/3 A company of West Indians formed for the economic upliftment of the people of the region. 1976 Nigerian Chron. 18 Aug. 12/2 Mr Onette congratulated the people of Osomba..for their initiative towards educational up-liftment in their community. 1979 P. NIHALANI et al. Indian & Brit. Eng. I. 187 The upliftment of the rural areas should be a top priority for the government. 1984 Times 25 Aug. 5/2 His immediate priorities would be the economic and educational upliftment of his people.
It still sounds made-up to me, but maybe that’s just because it sounds silly in the Snuggle commercial.
Also, Frances pointed out to me the other day that ‘burglarize’ is another pseudoword – we already had a perfectly good word, ‘burgle.’
