as in to excuse
to talk about or describe (something) in a way that makes it seem more pleasant or acceptable than it is
textbooks that sugarcoat history She has very strong opinions, and she doesn't try to sugarcoat them.
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Recent Examples of sugarcoat
There’s no way to sugarcoat that.
—
Scott Fowler, Charlotte Observer, 22 Aug. 2025
Listen and learn With the first day of school less than two weeks away, Townsel does not sugarcoat the district’s challenges of retention and recruitment of teachers and addressing special education woes with staff shortages and a high number of students placed in out-of-district programs.
—Livi Stanford, Hartford Courant, 18 Aug. 2025
Special team woes continue There’s no sugarcoating it, the Horned Frogs have issues on special teams after another rough day by the unit.
—Steven Johnson, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 17 Aug. 2025
There's no reason to sugarcoat it.
—James Bickerton, MSNBC Newsweek, 16 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for sugarcoat
Scott Fowler, Charlotte Observer, 22 Aug. 2025
Listen and learn With the first day of school less than two weeks away, Townsel does not sugarcoat the district’s challenges of retention and recruitment of teachers and addressing special education woes with staff shortages and a high number of students placed in out-of-district programs.
—Livi Stanford, Hartford Courant, 18 Aug. 2025
Special team woes continue There’s no sugarcoating it, the Horned Frogs have issues on special teams after another rough day by the unit.
—Steven Johnson, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 17 Aug. 2025
There's no reason to sugarcoat it.
—James Bickerton, MSNBC Newsweek, 16 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for sugarcoat
Recent Examples of Synonyms for sugarcoat
Verb
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It was announced by the Vikings head coach that McCarthy was excused due to being at the hospital with his fiancée to welcome the arrival of his baby boy.—
James Brizuela,
MSNBC Newsweek,
11 Sep. 2025
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Likewise, with cameras on the trains in Charlotte, the public could be excused for wondering why there wasn’t a more immediate response after the event.—
Chicago Tribune,
Twin Cities,
11 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Maybe the nuns could be transformed into spa therapists at a wellness retreat and the toxin explained away as a surfeit of matcha.—
Anthony Lane,
New Yorker,
8 Sep. 2025
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The idea sticks because the prize, limitless energy from tabletop hardware, is irresistible, and suppression narratives explain away the lack of mainstream acceptance.—
Kaif Shaikh,
Interesting Engineering,
4 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Researchers also highlight the role of brain processes, such as the frontal lobe’s ability to organize and justify events in how secrecy is rationalized and maintained.—
Mark Travers,
Forbes.com,
11 Sep. 2025
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With this setup, and with two stars who have done well playing characters on their respective Houses with a great capacity for rationalizing their cruelty to others, The Girlfriend could easily get away with going back and forth on the blame game for most of its six-hour length.—
Alan Sepinwall,
Rolling Stone,
8 Sep. 2025
Verb
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That explains why the two-perspective structure couldn’t be justified in an episode like this and exposes the weakness of the conceit in the first place.—
Rafaela Bassili,
Vulture,
10 Sep. 2025
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The excitement may be justified, but so is the concern when regulatory structures fail to keep pace with demand.—
Lindsay O'Neill,
Forbes.com,
10 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Here, Renzi explains how long the doc was in the works, why family members didn’t participate, and how Marco of all people helped Sheen to get off crack.—
Lynette Rice,
Deadline,
13 Sep. 2025
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At a time when contentious words dominate our conversations—think insurrection and fascism and fake news and woke—the need for dictionaries to chronicle and explain language, and serve as its watchdog, has never been greater.—
Stefan Fatsis,
The Atlantic,
13 Sep. 2025
Verb
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The pledge and the accompanying FAQs clearly state that the targets are complicit Israeli film institutions and companies, given their pervasive involvement in whitewashing or justifying Israel’s genocide in Gaza and its apartheid regime against all Palestinians.—
Glenn Garner,
Deadline,
12 Sep. 2025
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The mural was whitewashed over in August 2019, covering the artwork.—
Rebecca Schneid,
Time,
10 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Sugarcoat.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/sugarcoat. Accessed 16 Sep. 2025.
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