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.
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
“No way to sugarcoat it: The S&P 500 is expensive,” BofA Securities wrote in a Dec. 31 research note.
From Barron's • Jan. 8, 2026
We won't sugarcoat things - this year's offering isn't as strong as 2024's, when new material from Gavin, Stacey, Wallace and Gromit sleighed the schedule.
From BBC • Dec. 21, 2025
“It’s just straight-up disappointing, and there’s no other way to sugarcoat it.”
From The Wall Street Journal • Sep. 29, 2025
“Or something. I don’t know what you’d call it either, I guess. But it’s wrong. And you shouldn’t sugarcoat it just because your mom thinks you should.”
From "Starfish" by Akemi Dawn Bowman
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.
