weasel word
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weasel word

noun

Definition of WEASEL WORD

: a word used in order to evade or retreat from a direct or forthright statement or position

Examples of WEASEL WORD

  1. Reorganization is just a weasel word that the company is using to say that jobs are being eliminated.

Origin of WEASEL WORD

from the weasel's reputed habit of sucking the contents out of an egg while leaving the shell superficially intact
First Known Use: 1900

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