| 释义 |
weasel word
weasel wordn. An equivocal word used to deprive a statement of its force or to evade a direct commitment.
[From the weasel's habit of sucking the contents out of an egg without breaking the shell.]wea′sel word`
n. a word used to avoid stating something forthrightly or directly; a word that makes one's views misleading or confusing. [1895–1900, Amer.] wea′sel-word`ed, adj. Thesaurus| Noun | 1. | weasel word - an equivocal qualification; a word used to avoid making an outright assertionreservation, qualification - a statement that limits or restricts some claim; "he recommended her without any reservations" |
weasel wordnounThe use or an instance of equivocal language:ambiguity, equivocation, equivoque, euphemism, hedge, prevarication, shuffle, tergiversation.Informal: waffle.weasel word
weasel wordsLanguage employed to avoid directly stating a position or answering a question, or to enhance the appearance of something. Wikipedia discourages the use of weasel words in its encyclopedia entries to decrease the possibility of bias. If you read the transcript of his press conference, you'll see that there's barely any substances—it's nearly all weasel words.See also: weasel, wordweasel wordA word used to deprive a statement of its force or evade a direct commitment, as in Calling it "organized spontaneity" is using a weasel word; "organized" has sucked the meaning out of "spontaneity." This idiom may allude to the weasel's habit of sucking the contents out of a bird's egg, so that only the shell remains. [Late 1800s] See also: weasel, wordweasel wordA word that takes away the meaning from a statement, just as a weasel sucks the meat from an egg. The term dates from about 1900 and was popularized by Theodore Roosevelt. In a 1916 speech criticizing President Woodrow Wilson, Roosevelt said, “You can have universal training or you can have voluntary training but when you use the word ‘voluntary’ to qualify the word ‘universal’ you are using a weasel word; it has sucked all the meaning out of ‘universal.’ The two words flatly contradict one another.” See also: weasel, wordweasel word
Synonyms for weasel wordnoun the use or an instance of equivocal languageSynonyms- ambiguity
- equivocation
- equivoque
- euphemism
- hedge
- prevarication
- shuffle
- tergiversation
- waffle
Words related to weasel wordnoun an equivocal qualificationRelated Words |