View synonyms for weasel word

weasel word

noun

a word used to temper the forthrightness of a statement; a word that makes one's views equivocal, misleading, or confusing.

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Other Words From

weasel-worded adjective

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Word History and Origins

Origin of weasel word¹

An Americanism dating back to 1895–1900

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Idioms and Phrases

A 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]

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Example Sentences

There it was again, Merrick thought, the weasel-word 'compromise.'

From Project Gutenberg

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April 19, 2024tortuous

[tawr-choo-uhs ]

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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

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