weasel word
- a word used to temper the forthrightness of a statement; a word that makes one's views equivocal, misleading, or confusing.
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Origin of weasel word
An Americanism dating back to 1895–1900
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for weasel word
Historical Examples of weasel word
There it was again, Merrick thought, the weasel-word 'compromise.'
Turning PointAlfred Coppel
Idioms and Phrases with weasel word
weasel word
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]
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The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.