euphemism
noun
the substitution of a mild, indirect, or vague expression for one thought to be offensive, harsh, or blunt.
euphemisms
-
pluralof euphemism.plural
The grammatical form denoting more than one person, place, thing, or idea.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Before divorce and death brought us euphemisms like “blended family,” literature was rife with poisonous step relations.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 14, 2026
In fact, we had a whole vocabulary of different words and euphemisms we could use so as not to think too deeply about the unthinkable or our possible role in making it happen.
From Salon ● Dec. 7, 2025
In one of the film’s most charged moments, Peck turns Orwell’s warning about political language into a montage of modern euphemisms: “peacekeeping operations,” “collateral damage,” “illegals” — and then, pointedly, “antisemitism 2024.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 7, 2025
And it could shift the national conversation from euphemisms and proxies to the real question: What do we owe the descendants of those who built this country?
From Slate ● Oct. 7, 2025
Amaranta felt so uncomfortable with her defective diction and her habit of using euphemisms to designate everything that she would always speak gibberish in front of her.
From "One Hundred Years of Solitude" by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
