as in metaphors
a mild or pleasant word group of words that is used instead of one that is unpleasant or offensive
using "eliminate" as a euphemism for "kill" She spoke in euphemisms when recounting the expletive-laden tirade.
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Recent Examples of euphemisms
In a year of cancellations and euphemisms, the city mounted a counterprogram that was quietly insurrectionary, stubbornly joyous.
—
The Editors, Curbed, 15 Dec. 2025
And even ages 8 to 10 should be OK, depending on your thoughts about PG romantic intimacy and use of clever euphemisms.
—Brian Truitt, USA Today, 20 Nov. 2025
The Editors, Curbed, 15 Dec. 2025
And even ages 8 to 10 should be OK, depending on your thoughts about PG romantic intimacy and use of clever euphemisms.
—Brian Truitt, USA Today, 20 Nov. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for euphemisms
Noun
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Postnature, then, demands a subjectivity that is plural and decenters the human; a postnatural ethics seeks to blur the boundaries between human and nature, crafting new metaphors for the permeability and porousness of life-forms.—
Catherine Taft,
Artforum,
1 Feb. 2026
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Though the rope suggests tidy metaphors of unity, coherence, and formal integrity, a playful but insistent messiness effloresces in Simms’s entanglements, throwing any seeming wholeness into question.—
Richard Brody,
New Yorker,
30 Jan. 2026
Noun
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Videos on Chinese social media show people adorning their homes with red posters carrying well-wishing phrases, known as fai chun or chunlian, in an annual festive ritual.—
Chris Lau,
CNN Money,
4 Feb. 2026
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Here’s 5 boundary-setting phrases high performers use at work.—
Kate Wieczorek,
Forbes.com,
29 Jan. 2026
Noun
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One is that Venus is relatively large (almost the same size as Earth) for a rocky planet as well as relatively close to the Sun; in terms of the total amount of solar radiation incident on its surface, only Jupiter receives more.—
Big Think,
Big Think,
5 Feb. 2026
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And while the sentimental value immeasurable, in pure cash terms, those medals will be worth more than ever before.—
Hanna Ziady,
CNN Money,
5 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Euphemisms.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/euphemisms. Accessed 11 Feb. 2026.
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