as in to soften
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Recent Examples of euphemize
To translate Holocaust literature at a moment when genocide is not only a historical category but an active legal accusation exposes translators, editors, and institutions alike to pressures to contain, displace, or euphemize violence.
—
Literary Hub, 13 Feb. 2026
Better offers an insightful, vital portrait of suicide that makes no attempt to euphemize or diminish its subject.
—Emma Alpern, Vulture, 2 Dec. 2025
Those words euphemize a cascade of traumas that have befallen higher education since Inauguration Day.
—Ian Bogost, The Atlantic, 27 Feb. 2025
Later, their sad parts were endlessly euphemized until they could be mistaken for happy endings.
—Harmony Holiday, Los Angeles Times, 26 Apr. 2023
Why euphemize?
—oregonlive, 10 Dec. 2021
And if a real crisis happens, as with Central Americans flooding through the southern border, euphemize it as someone else’s mess.
—Daniel Henninger, WSJ, 17 Mar. 2021
First on the docket is hair loss (euphemized on its site as a bonsai tree shedding its leaves), with a $44-a-month box that includes DHT shampoo, a Minoxidil dropper, and Finasteride pills.
—Grant Rindner, Esquire, 6 Dec. 2017
Literary Hub, 13 Feb. 2026
Better offers an insightful, vital portrait of suicide that makes no attempt to euphemize or diminish its subject.
—Emma Alpern, Vulture, 2 Dec. 2025
Those words euphemize a cascade of traumas that have befallen higher education since Inauguration Day.
—Ian Bogost, The Atlantic, 27 Feb. 2025
Later, their sad parts were endlessly euphemized until they could be mistaken for happy endings.
—Harmony Holiday, Los Angeles Times, 26 Apr. 2023
Why euphemize?
—oregonlive, 10 Dec. 2021
And if a real crisis happens, as with Central Americans flooding through the southern border, euphemize it as someone else’s mess.
—Daniel Henninger, WSJ, 17 Mar. 2021
First on the docket is hair loss (euphemized on its site as a bonsai tree shedding its leaves), with a $44-a-month box that includes DHT shampoo, a Minoxidil dropper, and Finasteride pills.
—Grant Rindner, Esquire, 6 Dec. 2017
Recent Examples of Synonyms for euphemize
Verb
-
In addition to eliminating subsidies, the White House softened Biden- and Obama-era regulations designed to push traditional automakers into offering more EVs by toughening tailpipe emission standards.—
Trevor Hughes,
USA Today,
9 June 2026
-
To soften the impact of the trash fee reduction, city officials plan to send $22 million from the recycling fund to the general fund in both fiscal 2028 and fiscal 2029.—
David Garrick,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
9 June 2026
Verb
-
By the end of the process, the whey is a fine powder that can be flavored or sweetened before it's packaged and sold.—
Alyssa Goldberg,
USA Today,
2 June 2026
-
This includes soda, energy drinks, sports drinks, and sweetened tea and coffee beverages.—
Lindsey DeSoto,
Health,
30 May 2026
Verb
-
The internet certainly doesn’t poeticize it for me.—
Leah Greenblatt,
EW.com,
29 Aug. 2019
-
Santo Loquasto's set doesn't poeticize the ambience.—
Charles McNulty,
latimes.com,
10 May 2018
Cite this Entry
“Euphemize.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/euphemize. Accessed 11 Jun. 2026.
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