Crossword clues for euphemism
euphemism
Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
The Collaborative International Dictionary
Euphemism \Eu"phe*mism\ ([=u]"f[-e]*m[i^]z'm), n. [Gr. ? fr. ? to use word of a good omen; e'y^ well + ? to speak: cf. F. euph['e]misme. See Fame.] (Rhet.) A figure in which a harsh or indelicate word or expression is softened; a way of describing an offensive thing by an inoffensive expression; a mild name for something disagreeable.
Douglas Harper's Etymology Dictionary
1650s, from Greek euphemismos "use of a favorable word in place of an inauspicious one," from euphemizein "speak with fair words, use words of good omen," from eu- "good, well" (see eu-) + pheme "speaking," from phanai "speak" (see fame (n.)).\n
\nIn ancient Greece, the superstitious avoidance of words of ill-omen during religious ceremonies, or substitutions such as Eumenides "the Gracious Ones" for the Furies (see also Euxine). In English, a rhetorical term at first; broader sense of "choosing a less distasteful word or phrase than the one meant" is first attested 1793. Related: Euphemistic; euphemistically.
Wiktionary
n. 1 (context uncountable English) The use of a word or phrase to replace another with one that is considered less offensive, blunt or vulgar than the word or phrase it replaces. 2 (context countable English) A word or phrase that is used to replace another in this way.
WordNet
n. an inoffensive expression that is substituted for one that is considered offensive [ant: dysphemism]
Wikipedia
A euphemism is a generally innocuous word or expression used in place of one that may be found offensive or suggest something unpleasant. Some euphemisms are intended to amuse; while others use bland, inoffensive terms for things the user wishes to downplay. Euphemisms are used to refer to taboo topics (such as disability, sex, excretion, and death) in a polite way, or to mask profanity.
There are three antonyms of euphemism: dysphemism, cacophemism, and loaded language. Dysphemism can be either offensive or merely ironic; cacophemism is deliberately offensive. Loaded language evokes a visceral response beyond the meaning of the words.
Usage examples of "euphemism".
Affluent was the best euphemism she could come up with for the sentiments she was actually feeling.
Weisthor and his associates had developed that talent for euphemism that working in security or intelligence seems to encourage.
Hohenlychen, near Ravensbruck concentration camp, where many S S staff officers are treated for the prevailing euphemism that describes mental illness.
After a moment I realized he meant fraternize, which was the euphemism in general military usage for what another American officer was doing to my wife.
Every example I offer you on these euphemism topics has been personally observed.
The most frequently heard euphemism for a labor strike is work stoppage.
Behind this bland euphemism lurks the political police, and nobody in the criminal-investigation branch wants anything to do with those creeps.
Reich euphemisms, and that this particular one related to the secret training of fighter pilots.
Abwehr could be much of a stranger to these necessary euphemisms, Herr Gunther.
Another role euphemisms play is to simply put a better face on things, to dress up existing phrases that sound too negative.
I broke the euphemisms into segments, because they play such a large and varied role in American speech.
But no matter their purpose, the one thing euphemisms all have in common is that they soften the language.
EUPHEMISMS: The March of Time At we resume our look at the advance of EUPHEMISMS, we have to keep a close eye on the image-makers: advertisers, marketers, public-relations people.
EUPHEMISMS: Food and Restaurants EUPHEMISMS and politically correct speech have also infiltrated the food and restaurant businesses.
EUPHEMISMS: Death and Dying Some of our best work with EUPHEMISMS involves the subject that makes us the most uncomfortable: death.