as in to explain
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.
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 sugarcoat
Johnson, who has been perhaps the most vocal critic of the emerging package, did not sugarcoat his feelings after emerging from a meeting of the Senate GOP conference held to brief members on the bill.
—
Al Weaver, The Hill, 17 June 2025
This Ride Isn’t Smooth There’s no way to sugarcoat it: Lululemon has experienced dramatic declines during market corrections.
—Trefis Team, Forbes.com, 8 June 2025
Refusing to sugarcoat Tityrus’s experience of our fetid and worn-out world, Wiese uncovers the daily pathos and absurdities of contemporary life.
—Diana Arterian
june 5, Literary Hub, 5 June 2025
The director never sugarcoats life in the Big Apple for Lu, his family, nor for the rest of the striving migrant underclass.
—Jordan Mintzer, HollywoodReporter, 27 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for sugarcoat
Al Weaver, The Hill, 17 June 2025
This Ride Isn’t Smooth There’s no way to sugarcoat it: Lululemon has experienced dramatic declines during market corrections.
—Trefis Team, Forbes.com, 8 June 2025
Refusing to sugarcoat Tityrus’s experience of our fetid and worn-out world, Wiese uncovers the daily pathos and absurdities of contemporary life.
—Diana Arterian
june 5, Literary Hub, 5 June 2025
The director never sugarcoats life in the Big Apple for Lu, his family, nor for the rest of the striving migrant underclass.
—Jordan Mintzer, HollywoodReporter, 27 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for sugarcoat
Recent Examples of Synonyms for sugarcoat
Verb
-
Each explained their reasons for bucking the president.—
Ivan Pereira,
ABC News,
1 July 2025
-
This sterile male technique, previously explained to Newsweek by Texas A&M Professor Phillip Kaufman, works because female screwworm flies mate only once—flooding areas with sterile males prevents successful reproduction.—
Adeola Adeosun,
MSNBC Newsweek,
1 July 2025
Verb
-
In our opinion, this favorable trend justifies an upward revision of its valuation multiple.—
Trefis Team,
Forbes.com,
30 June 2025
-
The midfielder has arguably had to fight even harder to begin to justify the energy and expense required to bring him to Stamford Bridge two and a half years ago.—
Liam Twomey,
New York Times,
28 June 2025
Verb
-
None of that, however, excuses the silly and juvenile behavior of the Assembly’s majority Democrats last week when the chamber took up a resolution commemorating Pride month.—
Mark Barabak,
Mercury News,
3 July 2025
-
Students who cannot get to school and have bus stops are on a list provided by district officials can get absences excused Thursday and Friday.—
Killian Baarlaer,
The Courier-Journal,
2 July 2025
Cite this Entry
“Sugarcoat.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/sugarcoat. Accessed 13 Jul. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share