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euphemistic

UK/ˌjuːfəˈmɪstɪk/US/ˌjuːfəˈmɪstɪk/
adjectiveC2Rare in speech; mostly a word you read · #15,028 of 15,258leans written

Euphemistic means using a gentle word in place of a blunt one. A euphemistic phrase.

It is kind at a funeral and dishonest in a press release. A euphemistic term wears out as everybody learns what it stands for.

Daniel Case · CC BY-SA 3.0

Definitions of euphemistic

  1. 1adjectiveeuphemisticUsing a gentle word in place of a blunt one.C2

    “The euphemistic wording fooled nobody at all.”

euphemistic is a quality.

Where it comes from

  1. Proto-Indo-European

    *bʰeh₂-

  2. Ancient Greek

    εὐφημισμός

  3. English

    euphemism

  4. English, today

    euphemistic

Built from

  • εὔφημος · Ancient Greek — uttering sound of good omen, abstaining from inauspicious words
  • εὖ · Ancient Greek — well
  • φήμη · Ancient Greek — a voice, a prophetic voice, rumor, talk
  • φημί · Ancient Greek — to speak, say

From euphemism + -tic. euphemism Recorded since 1656; from Ancient Greek εὐφημισμός, from εὐφημίζω, from εὔφημος (“uttering sound of good omen, abstaining from inauspicious words”), from εὖ (“well”) + φήμη (“a voice, a prophetic voice, rumor, talk”), from φημί (“to speak, say”).

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA

Practise this word

euphemistic in the wild

  • Another Latin phrase related to our current concept of sanity is compos mentis ("sound of mind"), and a euphemistic term for insanity is non compos mentis.

    Insanity

  • In the song Ado Annie Carnes describes her sexual awakening (albeit in highly euphemistic terms) and the conflicts that it brings.

    I Cain't Say No

  • A less euphemistic set of stanzas, which was in the original, was dropped from the 1955 movie.

    I Cain't Say No

  • To kick the bucket is an English idiom considered a euphemistic, informal, or slang term meaning "to die".

    Kick the bucket

  • Making the beast with two backs is a euphemistic metaphor for two people engaged in sexual intercourse.

    Beast with two backs

From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. These sentences were written by other people about their own subjects; they are here to show the word at work, not as anybody’s opinion.

Related words

  • euphemism