as in to soften
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Recent Examples of euphemize
Better offers an insightful, vital portrait of suicide that makes no attempt to euphemize or diminish its subject.
—
Emma Alpern, Vulture, 2 Dec. 2025
Those words euphemize a cascade of traumas that have befallen higher education since Inauguration Day.
—Ian Bogost, The Atlantic, 27 Feb. 2025
Later, their sad parts were endlessly euphemized until they could be mistaken for happy endings.
—Harmony Holiday, Los Angeles Times, 26 Apr. 2023
Why euphemize?
—oregonlive, 10 Dec. 2021
And if a real crisis happens, as with Central Americans flooding through the southern border, euphemize it as someone else’s mess.
—Daniel Henninger, WSJ, 17 Mar. 2021
First on the docket is hair loss (euphemized on its site as a bonsai tree shedding its leaves), with a $44-a-month box that includes DHT shampoo, a Minoxidil dropper, and Finasteride pills.
—Grant Rindner, Esquire, 6 Dec. 2017
Emma Alpern, Vulture, 2 Dec. 2025
Those words euphemize a cascade of traumas that have befallen higher education since Inauguration Day.
—Ian Bogost, The Atlantic, 27 Feb. 2025
Later, their sad parts were endlessly euphemized until they could be mistaken for happy endings.
—Harmony Holiday, Los Angeles Times, 26 Apr. 2023
Why euphemize?
—oregonlive, 10 Dec. 2021
And if a real crisis happens, as with Central Americans flooding through the southern border, euphemize it as someone else’s mess.
—Daniel Henninger, WSJ, 17 Mar. 2021
First on the docket is hair loss (euphemized on its site as a bonsai tree shedding its leaves), with a $44-a-month box that includes DHT shampoo, a Minoxidil dropper, and Finasteride pills.
—Grant Rindner, Esquire, 6 Dec. 2017
Recent Examples of Synonyms for euphemize
Verb
-
Williams did not explicitly mention tennis, or any sport, in her Super Bowl advert for Ro, but her focus on movement and wellbeing in the context of her softening position on the possibility of a comeback was striking.—
James Hansen,
New York Times,
9 Feb. 2026
-
On most prestige shows, a friendship between two women from disparate backgrounds would serve as an emotional anchor, softening both characters.—
Inkoo Kang,
New Yorker,
9 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
The cocktail comes to us, like so many greats, from Hugo Ensslin’s 1916 Recipes for Mixed Drinks and the recipe most of us use is more or less the same as his—a healthy pour of Irish whiskey, with lime juice and some grenadine (pomegranate syrup) to sweeten.—
Jeremy Repanich,
Robb Report,
7 Feb. 2026
-
These are alt-sodas sweetened with monk fruit, which has a hollow sweetness that leaves my tongue itchy.—
Alex Beggs,
Bon Appetit Magazine,
7 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
The internet certainly doesn’t poeticize it for me.—
Leah Greenblatt,
EW.com,
29 Aug. 2019
-
Santo Loquasto's set doesn't poeticize the ambience.—
Charles McNulty,
latimes.com,
10 May 2018
Cite this Entry
“Euphemize.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/euphemize. Accessed 14 Feb. 2026.
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