euphemismnoun [ C or U ]
uk/ˈjuː.fə.mɪ.zəm/us/ˈjuː.fə.mɪ.zəm/a word or phrase used to avoid saying an unpleasant or offensive word:
"Senior citizen" is a euphemism for "old person".
The article made so much use of euphemism that often its meaning was unclear.
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Digressing and being indirect or evasive
- beat
- discursive
- elliptical
- evasive
- go (all) round the houses idiom
- go off on a tangent idiom
- implicit
- meander
- move off sth/on (to sth)
- obliquely
- parry
- sanitize
- sidestep
- skirt
- stray
- suggestion
- talk around sth
- tangent
- tiptoe
- tiptoe around sth/sb
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You can also find related words, phrases, and synonyms in the topics:
Polite and respectful
euphemistic
adjective uk/ˌjuː.fəˈmɪs.tɪk/us/ˌjuː.fəˈmɪs.tɪk/
euphemistically
adverb uk/ˌjuː.fəˈmɪs.tɪ.kəl.i/us/ˌjuː.fəˈmɪs.tɪ.kəl.i/