as in dead metaphor
Related Words
Relevance
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of code word
Have a safety plan and a family code word.
—
Amelia Mugavero, CBS News, 6 Feb. 2026
But electability is neither a code word for, nor tantamount to, white-male-ness.
—Jonathan Chait, The Atlantic, 5 Feb. 2026
Was there literally a code word?
—Benjamin Siegel, ABC News, 21 Oct. 2025
Greater Manchester Police had declared PLATO – a national code word used when police deploy armed officers across the force to the scene of an attack, CNN understands.
—Peter Wilkinson, CNN Money, 2 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for code word
Amelia Mugavero, CBS News, 6 Feb. 2026
But electability is neither a code word for, nor tantamount to, white-male-ness.
—Jonathan Chait, The Atlantic, 5 Feb. 2026
Was there literally a code word?
—Benjamin Siegel, ABC News, 21 Oct. 2025
Greater Manchester Police had declared PLATO – a national code word used when police deploy armed officers across the force to the scene of an attack, CNN understands.
—Peter Wilkinson, CNN Money, 2 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for code word
Recent Examples of Synonyms for code word
Noun
-
The media are somewhat responsible, so apologies for beating a dead metaphor.—
Paul Sullivan,
Chicago Tribune,
7 May 2026
-
Many of our emotion terms are references to states of the body—we’re downcast, bent out of shape, head over heels, shaken up, down in the mouth—which have slowly rigidified into dead metaphor.—
Nikhil Krishnan,
The New Yorker,
1 Aug. 2022
Noun
-
In a popular analogy, the fabric of space-time is like the flat expanse of a mattress, and a massive object like a star is like a bowling ball sitting on top.—
Quanta Magazine,
Quanta Magazine,
3 June 2026
-
But these are not normal times, and the historical analogy does not hold.—
David S. Cohen,
The Orlando Sentinel,
28 May 2026
Noun
-
Dryden’s famous simile, from La Fontaine’s own century, likens a translator who copies too closely to a man dancing on ropes with fettered legs: careful, precise, but never graceful.—
Jan Steyn,
The Dial,
10 Mar. 2026
-
Salazar-Thompson’s witty script — packed with hilarious metaphors and similes (like comparing a woman’s firm grip on her purse to that of a two-toed sloth on a branch) — make for a consistently amusing trip back in time.—
Pam Kragen,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
9 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
Special military operation is Russia’s official euphemism for the country’s invasion of Ukraine.—
Ashley Belanger,
ArsTechnica,
30 Apr. 2026
-
Discussing why people use euphemisms online prepares children to pause and ask questions when unfamiliar terms appear.—
Sharlette A. Kellum,
The Conversation,
6 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Ethan spikes Giles’ drink and Giles wakes up the next morning as a giant Fyorl demon—a handy metaphor for his midlife crisis, per producer Douglas Petrie.—
ArsTechnica,
ArsTechnica,
7 June 2026
-
Stankiewicz, 61, smirked at the fitting metaphor after the Trojans clinched their first NCAA super regional berth in 21 years.—
Jose de Jesus Ortiz,
Los Angeles Times,
4 June 2026
Noun
-
But in terms of its actual content, the statement was pretty thin gruel, bristling with public relations-style circumlocution and vagueness.—
Business Columnist,
Los Angeles Times,
27 Jan. 2026
-
Here, instead, she’s swayed by a dead Diana softly squeezing her hand and kindly hinting — the dead Diana is an ace at tactful circumlocution — that now is the time to show a mourning nation some emotion.—
Tom Gliatto,
Peoplemag,
16 Nov. 2023
Cite this Entry
“Code word.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/code%20word. Accessed 8 Jun. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
