euphemism
46
6.1
- noun
- /ˈjuːfəmɪzəm/
:
eufemismo
- The term 'passed away' is a common euphemism for death.
- use euphemisms
- a euphemism for sex
- constitute a euphemism
Little relevance is of course, a bureaucratic euphemism for no relevance at all.
- Little relevance is of course, a bureaucratic euphemism for no relevance at all.
- The plant rich diet, is this not a euphemism for eating a plant based diet?
- By the way, driving with the top down sounds like a euphemism you'd use about Rudy Giuliani.
- Well, let's let's decode both of those euphemisms.
- When you say smash the bell, like, is that a euphemism?
- And that's the way that a reporter unwinds, like, oh, that's a euphemism for death.
- Thank you, Gwyneth Paltrow, for that ever so useful euphemism.
- It justifies its actions, most of which occur in secret, using euphemisms.
Examples
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Still, some House Republicans warily view shelter curbs as a euphemism for tax increases.
Academic text (2003) -
We have such nice sounding euphemisms for sugar and carbohydrates.
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It's not a euphemism for anything else.
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That sounds like a euphemism for white men.
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Is that a euphemism for a well?
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It's a euphemism for retreat.
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For example, a centuries-old euphemism for prostitution in Japan is the "water trade."
Academic text (1997) -
The name of this image translates as "The one who eats alone," a euphemism for sorcery.
Academic text (2002) -
So postpartum depression first should be distinguished from what we call the baby Blues, which honestly is just a euphemism for for mild depression.
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"It's getting cold," Walker agrees, a Boston euphemism for the onset of hypothermia.
Fiction book (1994)
Antonyms
How Mild
Surface Forms
Morphology
euphemism = eu + phem + ism
Formed from Greek combining elements (eu- + phem- + -ism) that are not productive standalone English words, so an average B1 learner cannot derive the meaning from the parts.
Etymology
The word euphemism comes from Greek parts eu- meaning 'good' and -pheme meaning 'speech' or 'words'. So a euphemism is a 'good' or gentle way to say something unpleasant, which is why people say 'passed away' instead of 'died'.