1
as in expressed
to convey in appropriate or telling terms
I'm trying to couch this delicately: I don't think we should date anymore
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of couched
Thursday’s announcement was couched in terms of cost.
—
John Moritz, Hartford Courant, 13 Feb. 2026
And even then, it was couched in the polite, ambiguous language.
—Dieter Kurtenbach, Mercury News, 31 Jan. 2026
Even My Dying Bride, Warning’s closest spiritual antecedent, have always couched their little-r romantic songs in a lot of big-R Romanticism—the blood, the wine, the roses, and other such gothic Byronisms.
—Brad Sanders, Pitchfork, 17 Jan. 2026
Still, some constitutional violations can also be couched as civil wrongdoings under the FTCA.
—Aysha Bagchi, USA Today, 17 Jan. 2026
Their statements are simply a summary of the law, although couched with political speech.
—Michael Szalma, The Orlando Sentinel, 10 Jan. 2026
To be clear, revenue share contracts are couched as an intellectual property transaction with the school buying a license to use the athlete’s NIL.
—Michael McCann, Sportico.com, 8 Jan. 2026
Sometimes the case for war’s inevitability is couched in expressions of rue and reluctance.
—Elizabeth D. Samet, Foreign Affairs, 29 Oct. 2025
Usually, the question was couched in politeness, but my students (bless them) had not yet learned to be subtle.
—Literary Hub, 15 Oct. 2025
John Moritz, Hartford Courant, 13 Feb. 2026
And even then, it was couched in the polite, ambiguous language.
—Dieter Kurtenbach, Mercury News, 31 Jan. 2026
Even My Dying Bride, Warning’s closest spiritual antecedent, have always couched their little-r romantic songs in a lot of big-R Romanticism—the blood, the wine, the roses, and other such gothic Byronisms.
—Brad Sanders, Pitchfork, 17 Jan. 2026
Still, some constitutional violations can also be couched as civil wrongdoings under the FTCA.
—Aysha Bagchi, USA Today, 17 Jan. 2026
Their statements are simply a summary of the law, although couched with political speech.
—Michael Szalma, The Orlando Sentinel, 10 Jan. 2026
To be clear, revenue share contracts are couched as an intellectual property transaction with the school buying a license to use the athlete’s NIL.
—Michael McCann, Sportico.com, 8 Jan. 2026
Sometimes the case for war’s inevitability is couched in expressions of rue and reluctance.
—Elizabeth D. Samet, Foreign Affairs, 29 Oct. 2025
Usually, the question was couched in politeness, but my students (bless them) had not yet learned to be subtle.
—Literary Hub, 15 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for couched
Verb
-
But in Los Angeles, immigrant rights advocates expressed concerns about requiring the LAPD to police another agency.—
Melissa Gomez,
Los Angeles Times,
11 Feb. 2026
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The woman in the video expressed shock at the police presence at her house and at the search of her home.—
Washington Examiner Staff,
The Washington Examiner,
11 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Around the grave of one young man, his mother and grandmother quietly sob, his friends crouched down by the small mat of flower stems.—
Frederik Pleitgen,
CNN Money,
3 Feb. 2026
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Now, crouched behind a Ford Interceptor, Robbins took in the property.—
Scott Eden,
Rolling Stone,
1 Feb. 2026
Verb
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The Nebraska congressman said the president’s recent rhetoric about acquiring Greenland by placing tariffs on European allies.—
Rachel Schilke,
The Washington Examiner,
10 Feb. 2026
-
Ives said many customers have reservations about data privacy and protection, which could be a hurdle for general AI chatbots becoming go-to services for businesses.—
John Towfighi,
CNN Money,
10 Feb. 2026
Verb
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At the end of last week, after another long day of talks in Abu Dhabi, Ukraine’s envoys huddled around a phone for a call with their boss, who was waiting in Kyiv to hear their report.—
Simon Shuster,
The Atlantic,
12 Feb. 2026
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By halftime, Gabby was huddled against her fiancé, barely watching the match.—
Théoden Janes,
Charlotte Observer,
11 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Explain the mechanism that Washington used to compel quarterback Demond Williams to return because the consequences were too onerous to ignore, like LSU losing out on $4 million in NIL for 2026 or however it’s phrased.—
Jon Wilner,
Mercury News,
9 Jan. 2026
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This suggests that the models’ internal beliefs are skewed based on how questions are phrased, or by their topics.—
Chara Podimata,
Time,
21 Nov. 2025
Verb
-
And Lewis has not, until now, articulated his strategy for the paper's future.—
David Folkenflik,
NPR,
4 Feb. 2026
-
Art isn’t easy, Stephen Sondheim articulated about the creative process.—
Robert Abele,
Los Angeles Times,
30 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
Her answer is a departure in terms of how publicly it was stated.—
Isaac Chotiner,
New Yorker,
10 Feb. 2026
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In response to an inquiry, Meta directed CNBC to a 2019 statement from a spokesperson, which stated that Zuckerberg did not communicate with Epstein again after the dinner.—
Dylan Butts,
CNBC,
9 Feb. 2026
Verb
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The first claim drew a swift, if carefully worded, denial from the school, followed months later by Hudson’s threat of litigation, which has yet to materialize.—
Daniel Libit,
Sportico.com,
17 Dec. 2025
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The 2010 exemption specifically targeted Jackson County and was worded to apply only to charter counties with populations between 600,000 and 700,000 people, a population level Jackson County has now surpassed.—
Kacen Bayless,
Kansas City Star,
23 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Couched.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/couched. Accessed 15 Feb. 2026.
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