as in explaining
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 sugarcoating
What Compassionate Leadership Looks Like Compassionate leadership doesn’t mean avoiding hard decisions or sugarcoating the truth.
—
Kiran Mann, Forbes.com, 3 Sep. 2025
Nunemaker said the search committee tried to give Sajet a realistic picture of the museum, the board and Milwaukee as a place to live without sugarcoating or underselling anything.
—Jim Higgins, jsonline.com, 3 Sep. 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
In lieu of sugarcoating the possibility of being made whole again and/or overstating the extent to which a mutual understanding might allow these characters to identify their common enemy, the film cannonballs into the grim absurdity of a world that’s lost control of itself.
—David Ehrlich, IndieWire, 6 Aug. 2025
Kiran Mann, Forbes.com, 3 Sep. 2025
Nunemaker said the search committee tried to give Sajet a realistic picture of the museum, the board and Milwaukee as a place to live without sugarcoating or underselling anything.
—Jim Higgins, jsonline.com, 3 Sep. 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
In lieu of sugarcoating the possibility of being made whole again and/or overstating the extent to which a mutual understanding might allow these characters to identify their common enemy, the film cannonballs into the grim absurdity of a world that’s lost control of itself.
—David Ehrlich, IndieWire, 6 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for sugarcoating
Verb
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The film opens just as its predecessor ended, with a handy recap explaining how Ne Zha and his angelic counterpart, Ao Bing, ended up in need of bodily reincarnation.—
Derek Robertson,
The Washington Examiner,
5 Sep. 2025
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Amorim has been clearer and more consistent in explaining his tactical ideas and vision for the future.—
Carl Anka,
New York Times,
5 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Newsom and Mayor Karen Bass said there was no emergency justifying the military.—
Bart Jansen,
USA Today,
3 Sep. 2025
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Bob felt that Clark Gilmer was 'justifying the harm' done to trans people in her comments about King.—
EW.com,
EW.com,
1 Sep. 2025
Verb
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This doesn’t mean excusing harmful behavior.—
Mark Travers,
Forbes.com,
30 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Sugarcoating.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/sugarcoating. Accessed 10 Sep. 2025.
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