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sugarcoat

[shoo g-er-koht]
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verb (used with object)

to cover with sugar: to sugarcoat a pill.
to make (something difficult or distasteful) appear more pleasant or acceptable: There was no way to sugarcoat the bad news.

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RELATED WORDS

mull, honey, candy, sugar, candy-coat

Nearby words

  1. sugarberry,
  2. sugarbird,
  3. sugarbush,
  4. sugarcane,
  5. sugarcane borer,
  6. sugarcoating,
  7. sugared,
  8. sugarhouse,
  9. sugaring,
  10. sugaring off

Origin of sugarcoat

First recorded in 1865–70; sugar + coat
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for sugar-coat

British Dictionary definitions for sugar-coat

sugar-coat

verb (tr)

to coat or cover with sugar
to cause to appear more attractive; make agreeable
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 sugar-coat

sugarcoat

v.

also sugar-coat, 1870, originally of medicine; figuratively, "make more palatable," from 1910. Related: Sugarcoated; sugarcoating.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper