Word.ws English Dictionary

avoidance speech

avoidance speech noun: a special restricted speech style in certain languages used to refer to taboo subjects, or as a sign of respect in the presence of certain people, while doing certain activities, following a death, etc., distinguished by a specialized lexicon.

Noun

avoidance speech (uncountable)

  1. a special restricted speech style in certain languages used to refer to taboo subjects, or as a sign of respect in the presence of certain people, while doing certain activities, following a death, etc., distinguished by a specialized lexicon.
    Synonyms:
    avoidance language

Synonyms of avoidance speech

  • avoidance language

Origin of avoidance speech

From avoidance + speech.

Questions about avoidance speech

What does avoidance speech mean?
Avoidance speech means a special restricted speech style in certain languages used to refer to taboo subjects, or as a sign of respect in the presence of certain people, while doing certain activities, following a death, etc., distinguished by a specialized lexicon.
What part of speech is avoidance speech?
Avoidance speech is a noun.

Words near avoidance speech in the dictionary

  1. avoidable
  2. avoidableness
  3. avoidables
  4. avoidably
  5. avoidance
  6. avoidance speech
  7. avoidances
  8. avoidant
  9. avoidant personality disorder
  10. avoidant personality disordered
  11. avoidant personality disorders

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: avoidance speech (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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