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Definition of Euphemism
1. Noun. An inoffensive or indirect expression that is substituted for one that is considered offensive or too harsh.
Generic synonyms: Expression, Locution, Saying
Antonyms: Dysphemism
Derivative terms: Euphemistic, Euphemize
Definition of Euphemism
1. n. A figure in which a harsh or indelicate word or expression is softened; a way of describing an offensive thing by an inoffensive expression; a mild name for something disagreeable.
Definition of Euphemism
1. Noun. The use of a word or phrase to replace another with one that is considered less offensive or less vulgar than the word or phrase it replaces. ¹
2. Noun. A word or phrase that is used to replace another in this way. ¹
¹ Source: wiktionary.com
Definition of Euphemism
1. [n -S]
Lexicographical Neighbors of Euphemism
Literary usage of Euphemism
Below you will find example usage of this term as found in modern and/or classical literature:
1. Journal of Theological Studies (1900)
"[i Sam. iii 13], but the Scripture has employed euphemism. Of the same class is,
Why hast thou set me as a mark for thee, so that I am a burden to myself ..."
2. Words and Their Ways in English Speech by James Bradstreet Greenough, George Lyman Kittredge (1901)
"CHAPTER XXI euphemism DECENCY and propriety are powerful forces in changing the
... The origins of euphemism, then, are to be sought not in our complex ..."
3. Progressive Exercises in English Composition by Richard Green Parker (1850)
"A euphemism is a kind of periphrasis, used to avoid the harshness or impropriety
... Same in a euphemism. He was drunk. He had indulged himself in liquor. ..."
4. Language in the Making: A Word Study by Wilhelmina M. Thoma (1922)
"euphemism — poetry in language in survival of old ideas — reflection of race ...
ANOTHER phase in the conventionality of language, euphemism, common to all ..."
5. The Encyclopedia Americana: A Library of Universal Knowledge (1918)
"... as in the case of James II, can assume an implied abdication which the monarch
had no intention of executing, the term being a euphemism for deposition. ..."
6. A Dictionary of Slang, Jargon & Cant: Embracing English, American, and Anglo by Charles Godfrey Leland (1889)
"... used as a euphemism for "bloody." Of the same class are "darn it!" "by golly
I" "great Scott I " " Oh, that's b— rot I " quoth the disdainful ..."
Other Resources:
Asturian