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Synonyms for euphemism
| Grammar : Noun |
| Spell : yoo-fuh-miz-uh m |
| Phonetic Transcription : ˈyu fəˌmɪz əm |
Définition of euphemism
Origin :- 1650s, from Greek euphemismos "use of a favorable word in place of an inauspicious one," from euphemizein "speak with fair words, use words of good omen," from eu- "good" (see eu-) + pheme "speaking," from phanai "speak" (see fame (n.)).
- In ancient Greece, the superstitious avoidance of words of ill-omen during religious ceremonies, or substitutions such as Eumenides "the Gracious Ones" for the Furies (see also Euxine). In English, a rhetorical term at first; broader sense of "choosing a less distasteful word or phrase than the one meant" is first attested 1793. Related: Euphemistic; euphemistically.
- noun nice way of saying something
- A euphemism of kleptomania had been offered and accepted as sufficient excuse for her crime.
- Extract from : « Within the Law » by Marvin Dana
- He paused, not knowing what euphemism to supply for the thing his lordship must have done.
- Extract from : « The Lion's Skin » by Rafael Sabatini
- As applied to her, the term: coveralls, regulation, gray was strictly a euphemism.
- Extract from : « Attrition » by Jim Wannamaker
- Euphemism, the choice of words not harsh for harsh ideas, has its uses.
- Extract from : « English: Composition and Literature » by W. F. (William Franklin) Webster
- For finiteness and nothingness are identical; finiteness is only a euphemism for nothingness.
- Extract from : « The Essence of Christianity » by Ludwig Feuerbach
- Pray, my dear Panoukian, admire the euphemism to spare both our feelings.
- Extract from : « Old Mole » by Gilbert Cannan
- The word "scapegoat" is a euphemism; the Hebrew text says Azazel.
- Extract from : « The Bible Unveiled » by M. M. Mangasarian
- The use of the word as an euphemism for "the devil" is later.
- Extract from : « Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 8, Slice 3 » by Various
- The expression, "Roll of Honour," is a euphemism, but poetical.
- Extract from : « Stories That Words Tell Us » by Elizabeth O'Neill
- In Domesday the word is most commonly an euphemism for “dispossessed Englishman.”
- Extract from : « William the Conqueror » by Edward Augustus Freeman
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Based on : Thesaurus.com - Gutenberg.org - Dictionary.com - Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019