sugarcoat
Americanverb (used with object)
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to cover with sugar.
to sugarcoat a pill.
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to make (something difficult or distasteful) appear more pleasant or acceptable.
There was no way to sugarcoat the bad news.
Etymology
Origin of sugarcoat
Vocabulary lists containing sugarcoat
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.
“Losing John is a big loss for Google and there is no way to sugarcoat it,” Wedbush Securities analyst Dan Ives told Barron’s.
From Barron's • Jun. 22, 2026
As amiable as the movie is from the jump, it wastes no time thrusting viewers into a world in complete peril, refusing to sugarcoat the modern realities of a once-robust industry.
From Salon • May 1, 2026
“But I don’t want to sugarcoat it. It is going to be very disruptive.”
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 21, 2026
Davis, to her credit, doesn’t sugarcoat just how difficult it can be, especially for those new to its often inchoate norms.
From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 13, 2026
Teresa helped him, and Thomas asked her to sugarcoat the trip as much as she could, even if she had to flat-out lie, which was mostly the case.
From "The Maze Runner" by James Dashner
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
