weasel word

noun

1. a word used to temper the forthrightness of a statement; a word that makes one's views equivocal, misleading, or confusing.

Other Word Forms

• weasel-worded adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of weasel word¹

An Americanism dating back to 1895–1900

Idioms and Phrases

A word used to deprive a statement of its force or evade a direct commitment, as in Calling it “organized spontaneity” is using a weasel word; “organized” has sucked the meaning out of “spontaneity.” This idiom may allude to the weasel's habit of sucking the contents out of a bird's egg, so that only the shell remains. [Late 1800s]

Example Sentences

Rather than make direct claims about cures, supplement promoters resort to vague boasts about their products using what the Canadian researchers identify as weasel words that can foster the impression of efficacy.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

When he even pretended to be moderate on abortion with his weasel words around the Florida ban, anti-choice activists threw a fit.

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"The field is replete with weasel words and unfortunately one of those is consciousness," says Prof Stevan Harnad of Quebec University.

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“The U.S. has limited itself to blatant weasel words claiming that Julian can ‘seek to raise’ the First Amendment if extradited,” his wife, Stella Assange, said.

Read more on Seattle Times

Stella Assange said the “so-called assurances” were made up of “weasel words.”

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