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Indirect expression used in place of an offensive one
Answer for the clue "Indirect expression used in place of an offensive one ", 9 letters:
euphemism
Alternative clues for the word euphemism
- An inoffensive expression that is substituted for one that is considered offensive
- Delicate choice of terminology, possibly making me use Phi, mark
- Egad, e.g.
- It's a nice way to say something
- Unpleasant word's inoffensive replacement
- Inoffensive and indirect expression standing in for an offensive one
Word definitions for euphemism in dictionaries
Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
Word definitions in Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
noun EXAMPLES FROM OTHER ENTRIES ▪ "Pass away" is a euphemism for "die." EXAMPLES FROM CORPUS ▪ Both had clearly spent the morning raiding the dictionary of euphemism . ▪ But a recent desire for euphemism by Procter and Gamble strikes me as a possible exception ...
Douglas Harper's Etymology Dictionary
Word definitions in 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 ...
WordNet
Word definitions in WordNet
n. an inoffensive expression that is substituted for one that is considered offensive [ant: dysphemism ]
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.