doublespeak

[duhb-uh l-speek]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR doublespeak ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

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

Origin of doublespeak

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

Related formsdou·ble·speak·er, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for doublespeak

worthless, insignificant, trivial, senseless, inconsequential, hollow, unimportant, useless, absurd, pointless, vague, empty, futile, ludicrous, stupid, illogical, incongruous, unreasonable, ridiculous, mindless

Examples from the Web for doublespeak

Contemporary Examples of doublespeak

Hollande is ‘the king of doublespeak, ambiguity, and perpetual lies’
Hell Hath No Fury Like Valerie Trierweiler, the French President’s Ex
Lizzie Crocker
November 28, 2014
The Cold War had become a battlefield marked by doublespeak.
What Cold War CIA Interrogators Learned from the Nazis
Annie Jacobsen
February 11, 2014
He argues that the Islamists are two-faced and engage in doublespeak.
Tunisia’s Dark Turn
Jamie Dettmer
March 17, 2013
Facebook brought this on itself, with too many sneaky privacy changes, too much hubris and doublespeak.
Google’s New Twitter Killer
Dan Lyons
July 27, 2011

British Dictionary definitions for doublespeak

doublespeak

noun

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

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for doublespeak

1957, from double (adj.) + speak, coined on model of doublethink in Orwell's "Nineteen Eighty-Four" (the language in that book was Newspeak).

Idioms and Phrases with doublespeak

doublespeak

see double talk, def. 2.