Word.ws English Dictionary

double-entendre

double-entendre is the alternative spelling of double entendre.

Meaning of double entendre

Noun

double entendre (plural double entendres or (nonstandard) doubles entendres or (nonstandard) double entendre)

  1. (rhetoric) A phrase that has two meanings, especially where one is innocent and literal, the other risqué, bawdy, or ironic; an innuendo.
    • Avoid all equivocal expressions, usually denominated double entendre; they are certain proofs of a mean and indelicate mind.1812, A treatise on politeness, tr. from the French by a lady, page 172

Forms of double-entendre

pluraldouble-entendres

Questions about double-entendre

What is double-entendre the alternative spelling of?
Double-entendre is the alternative spelling of double entendre.

Words near double-entendre in the dictionary

  1. double-ended queues
  2. double-ender
  3. double-enders
  4. double-ending
  5. double-ends
  6. double-entendre
  7. double-entendres
  8. double-entry
  9. double-exposure
  10. double-exposures
  11. double-eyed

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: double-entendre (page history and authors); double entendre (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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Cite this entry: “double-entendre.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/double-entendre. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.