M-W Word of the Day: Euphemism -- "Saying that a politician 'spins' is a euphemism."

Euphemism noun


eu·​phe·​mism | \ ˈyü-fə-ˌmi-zəm


Saying that a politician 'spins' instead of 'lies' is a euphemism.


Essential Meaning of euphemism


: a mild or pleasant word or phrase that is used instead of one that is unpleasant or offensive


using "eliminate" as a euphemism for "kill"


Full Definition of euphemism


: the substitution of an agreeable or inoffensive expression for one that may offend or suggest something unpleasant


Other Words from euphemism


euphemist \ ˈyü- fə- mist


\ noun

euphemistic \ ˌyü- fə- ˈmi- stik


\ adjective

euphemistically \ ˌyü- fə- ˈmi- sti- k(ə- )lē


\ adverb


Did you know?


Euphemism comes from Greek eúphēmos, which means "uttering sounds of good omen," "fair-sounding," or "auspicious." The first part of that root is the prefix eu-, meaning "good."  The second part is phēmos, a Greek word for "speech."


How and Why We Use Euphemisms


Euphemisms can take different forms, but they all involve substituting a word or phrase considered to be less offensive than another. The substituted word might, for example, be viewed as a less coarse choice, as when dang or darn is used instead of damn or damned. 


Or it might replace a word viewed as insulting to a religious figure, such as the various euphemisms for God (gad, gadzooks, gosh) or Jesus (gee, jeepers, jeez). 


A euphemism may also consist of an indirect softening phrase that is substituted for the straightforward naming of something unpalatable. 


Thus, we hear of people being “let go” rather than “fired”; civilians killed in war described as “collateral damage”; or someone who has died having “kicked the bucket,” “passed away, “given up the ghost,” or “joined one’s ancestors.”


Examples of euphemism in a Sentence


Cougar is the euphemism for a woman who has reached mid-life, who is single, financially secure and on the lookout for relationships with younger men—as in "prey."


— Kerry Gold, Vancouver Sun, 17 Feb. 2001


Spin is sometimes dismissed as a simple euphemism for lying. But it's actually something more insidious: indifference to the truth.


— Michael Kinsley, Time, 25 Dec. 2000–1 Jan. 2001


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

"The Second Coming" by William Butler Yeats

Image
  The Second Coming   Turning and turning in the widening gyre    The falcon cannot hear the falconer; Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold; Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world, The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere    The ceremony of innocence is drowned; The best lack all conviction, while the worst    Are full of passionate intensity. Surely some revelation is at hand; Surely the Second Coming is at hand.    The Second Coming! Hardly are those words out    When a vast image out of  Spiritus Mundi Troubles my sight: somewhere in sands of the desert    A shape with lion body and the head of a man,    A gaze blank and pitiless as the sun,    Is moving its slow thighs, while all about it    Reel shadows of the indignant desert birds.    The darkness drops again; but now I know    That twenty ce...
Read more

Miniver Cheevy by Edwin Arlington Robinson

Image
  Miniver Cheevy  by  Edwin Arlington Robinson Miniver Cheevy, child of scorn, Grew lean while he assailed the seasons; He wept that he was ever born, And he had reasons. Miniver loved the days of old When swords were bright and steeds were prancing; The vision of a warrior bold Would set him dancing. Miniver sighed for what was not, And dreamed, and rested from his labors; He dreamed of Thebes and Camelot, And Priam's neighbors. Miniver mourned the ripe renown That made so many a name so fragrant; He mourned Romance, now on the town, And Art, a vagrant. Miniver loved the Medici, Albeit he had never seen one; He would have sinned incessantly Could he have been one. Miniver cursed the commonplace And eyed a khaki suit with loathing; He missed the mediæval grace Of iron clothing. Miniver scorned the gold he sought, But sore annoyed was he without it; Miniver thought, and thought, and thought, And thought about it. Miniver Cheevy, born...
Read more

"The Landlady" By Roald Dahl

Image
Billy Weaver had travelled down from London on the slow afternoon train, with a change at Swindon on the way, and by the time he got to Bath it was about nine o’clock in the evening and the moon was coming up out of a clear starry sky over the houses opposite the station entrance. But the air was deadly cold and the wind was like a flat blade of ice on his cheeks. “Excuse me,” he said, “but is there a fairly cheap hotel not too far away from here?” “Try The Bell and Dragon,” the porter answered, pointing down the road. “They might take you in. It’s about a quarter of a mile along on the other side.” Billy thanked him and picked up his suitcase and set out to walk the quarter- mile to The Bell and Dragon. He had 20 never been to Bath before. He didn’t know anyone who lived there. But Mr Greenslade at the Head Office in London had told him it was a splendid city. “Find your own lodgings,” he had said, “and then go along and report to the Branch Manager as soon as you’ve got yourself sett...
Read more