as in metaphor
a mild or pleasant word group of words that is used instead of one that is unpleasant or offensive
using "eliminate" as a euphemism for "kill" She spoke in euphemisms when recounting the expletive-laden tirade.
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of euphemism
After sixteen months of watching a genocide happen in real time—with more-or-less total support from Western governments, despite the euphemisms and justifications skillfully woven by headlines and political speeches—the contradiction is becoming harder to ignore.
—
Hazlitt, 27 Feb. 2025
Finally, liquid bat guano and liquid earthworm castings (guano and castings are euphemisms for excrement) are also utilized for foliar fertilization.
—Joshua Siskin, Orange County Register, 14 Feb. 2025
When health officials confirm bird flu in a flock, the birds are culled — a euphemism for killed — in order to stop the spread of the virus.
—Bruce Gil, Quartz, 12 Feb. 2025
Whenever a flock is infected they are culled — a euphemism for killed — in order to stop the spread of the virus.
—Bruce Gil, Quartz, 11 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for euphemism
Hazlitt, 27 Feb. 2025
Finally, liquid bat guano and liquid earthworm castings (guano and castings are euphemisms for excrement) are also utilized for foliar fertilization.
—Joshua Siskin, Orange County Register, 14 Feb. 2025
When health officials confirm bird flu in a flock, the birds are culled — a euphemism for killed — in order to stop the spread of the virus.
—Bruce Gil, Quartz, 12 Feb. 2025
Whenever a flock is infected they are culled — a euphemism for killed — in order to stop the spread of the virus.
—Bruce Gil, Quartz, 11 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for euphemism
Recent Examples of Synonyms for euphemism
Noun
-
The parts that do resonate feel like physical metaphors ripped out of real life.—
Bilge Ebiri,
Vulture,
17 Apr. 2025
-
In some ways, this is a good metaphor for the experience of Ramsey, of whom their co-star speaks with particular admiration.—
Fernanda Pérez Sánchez,
Vogue,
16 Apr. 2025
Noun
-
So much of the pro-wrestling job is not the wrestling part but cutting promos, the phrase used for presenting the audience with one’s storyline using words, not chops.—
Tony Maglio,
HollywoodReporter,
17 Apr. 2025
-
Typically, these phrases should be taken with a grain of salt.—
Kristine Gill,
Better Homes & Gardens,
16 Apr. 2025
Noun
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So what you're left with in terms of handicapping the race for pope is the endless guess-work by the Vatican experts at Rome's top media outlets.—
Marco della Cava,
USA Today,
22 Apr. 2025
-
Reelected in November to a third term, Murphy is in his third new phase as a senator — the first 10 years building a gun control movement, the last two as a broker of bipartisan deals on gun safety and border control.—
Mark Pazniokas,
Hartford Courant,
21 Apr. 2025
Noun
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Ultimately, Andrews and his actors find Chekhov by abandoning the paraphernalia of the writer’s universe and groping, in their own idiom, across a perilously empty stage, toward one another.—
Sara Holdren,
Vulture,
4 Apr. 2025
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Which is fitting for a composer who, even when developing a homegrown idiom of his own, was criticized for sounding too European.—
Joshua Barone,
New York Times,
17 Feb. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Euphemism.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/euphemism. Accessed 1 May. 2025.
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