genteelism

[jen-tee-liz-uhm]

noun

1. a word or phrase used in place of another, supposedly less genteel term.

   “Limb” is a genteelism for “leg.”

genteelism

/ dʒɛnˈtiːlɪzəm /

noun

1. a word or phrase used in place of a less genteel one

Word History and Origins

Origin of genteelism¹

First recorded in 1925–30; genteel + -ism

Example Sentences

Drop the “globalization and multiculturalism” genteelism.

Read more on Washington Post

Mitchell had no time for what he called "tinsel words"; he deplored the way copy editors appeared "to prefer the nasty genteelism to the exact word".

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The stereotyping begins with her treatment of Henry Watson Fowler, author of the 1926 classic A Dictionary of Modern English Usage, and his campaign against “genteelism” in writing. 

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Fowler defines “genteelism” as “the substituting, for the ordinary natural word that first suggests itself to the mind, of a synonym that is thought to be less soiled by the lips of the common herd, less familiar, less plebian, less vulgar, less improper, less apt to come unhandsomely betwixt the wind & our nobility.”

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Drama Critic Louis Kronenberger's comment was typical of the group at large: "A genteelism, and much worse than 'ain't I.' "

Read more on Time Magazine Archive