scare quotes
plural noun
: quotation marks used to express especially skepticism or derision concerning the use of the enclosed word or phrase
Examples of scare quotes in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Never mind caring about any of these characters, a word that should technically be in scare quotes here, though kudos to the cast for being so nimble in switching personality traits, defining tics and signature cadences on a dime.
—
David Fear, Rolling Stone, 2 Oct. 2024
But Thursday’s account was notably less toothy and hot than that recording, which hangs razor-sharp scare quotes at either end of the symphony.
—Michael Andor Brodeur, Washington Post, 26 Jan. 2024
The scare quotes only hint at how overwrought these discussions can become among obsessives and stans.
—Justin Chang, Los Angeles Times, 11 Dec. 2023
Musk emphasized on Twitter, in scare quotes.
—Jay Caspian Kang, The New Yorker, 6 Dec. 2022
But Hollywood is also notoriously low on imagination, which is why studios have attempted in vain to reproduce Jordan Peele’s unreproducible 2017 social satire Get Out, creating a whole new subgenre—call it prestige horror, with the usual scare quotes in place—in the process.
—Jo Livingstone, The New Republic, 1 Mar. 2021
Truths and life are in scare quotes here because Alison, of course, is a fictional character.
—Hazlitt, 18 Jan. 2023
Greenidge uses scare quotes around the word twice —at the end of book’s second act.
—Jane Kamensky, WSJ, 2 Dec. 2022
So many Seventies scary-film clichés in scare quotes, all buffered with a genuine obsession over retrograde pulp and a devoted passion for weapons-grade kink!
—David Fear, Rolling Stone, 21 June 2022
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David Fear, Rolling Stone, 2 Oct. 2024
But Thursday’s account was notably less toothy and hot than that recording, which hangs razor-sharp scare quotes at either end of the symphony.
—Michael Andor Brodeur, Washington Post, 26 Jan. 2024
The scare quotes only hint at how overwrought these discussions can become among obsessives and stans.
—Justin Chang, Los Angeles Times, 11 Dec. 2023
Musk emphasized on Twitter, in scare quotes.
—Jay Caspian Kang, The New Yorker, 6 Dec. 2022
But Hollywood is also notoriously low on imagination, which is why studios have attempted in vain to reproduce Jordan Peele’s unreproducible 2017 social satire Get Out, creating a whole new subgenre—call it prestige horror, with the usual scare quotes in place—in the process.
—Jo Livingstone, The New Republic, 1 Mar. 2021
Truths and life are in scare quotes here because Alison, of course, is a fictional character.
—Hazlitt, 18 Jan. 2023
Greenidge uses scare quotes around the word twice —at the end of book’s second act.
—Jane Kamensky, WSJ, 2 Dec. 2022
So many Seventies scary-film clichés in scare quotes, all buffered with a genuine obsession over retrograde pulp and a devoted passion for weapons-grade kink!
—David Fear, Rolling Stone, 21 June 2022
Cite this Entry
“Scare quotes.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/scare%20quotes. Accessed 24 May. 2025.
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