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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Police took Taddese’s phone and vehicle as evidence, which alarmed the family, Bernard said, explaining some of the family’s reservations about the police investigation.—
PJ Green,
Kansas City Star,
12 Sep. 2025
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About The Daily Money Each weekday, The Daily Money delivers the best consumer and financial news from USA TODAY, breaking down complex events, providing the TLDR version, and explaining how everything from Fed rate changes to bankruptcies impacts you.—
Betty Lin-Fisher,
USA Today,
12 Sep. 2025
Verb
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The Pentagon hasn't released information publicly justifying the destruction of the boat.—
Bart Jansen,
USA Today,
7 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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Procedures for excusing or deferring jury duty differs by county, according to the state’s judicial website.—
Tanasia Kenney,
Charlotte Observer,
5 Sep. 2025
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Ans suggests, before politely excusing himself to go do pre-race pull-ups with his brother in the woods across the street.—
Abe Beame,
Rolling Stone,
4 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
Cite this Entry
“Sugarcoating.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/sugarcoating. Accessed 16 Sep. 2025.
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