doublespeak

[duhb-uhl-speek]

noun

1. evasive, ambiguous language that is intended to deceive or confuse.

doublespeak

/ ˈdʌbəlˌspiːk /

noun

1. the practice of using ambiguous language regarding political, military, or corporate matters in a deliberate attempt to disguise the truth

Other Word Forms

• doublespeaker noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of doublespeak¹

First recorded in 1950–55; double + speak, by analogy with doublethink

Idioms and Phrases

see double talk, def. 2.

Example Sentences

Ferguson established “separate but equal” as the foundational doublespeak of segregation.

From Los Angeles Times

The lifestyle doublespeak people used to survive under successive dictatorships in Eastern Europe came a little more easily to Poles, who had practiced it before.

From Los Angeles Times

There is a lot of doublespeak, that as women, we have never been as emancipated and free to do what we want as we are today.

From Salon

Fox News host Harris Faulkner's doublespeak on the subject drew comparisons to North Korean state media.

From Salon

It doesn’t, of course, because Trump’s commitment to “free speech” has long been fraudulent doublespeak, to borrow once more from Orwell, even as the media frequently indulges that framing.

From Salon

Related Words

• absurd 
• empty 
• futile 
• hollow 
• inconsequential 
• insignificant 
• pointless 
• senseless 
• trivial 
• unimportant 
• useless 
• vague 
• worthless