Word.ws English Dictionary

paradiastole

UK/ˌpærədaɪˈæstəli/US/ˌpɛrədaɪˈæstəli/

paradiastole noun: a form of euphemism in which a positive synonym is substituted for a negative word.

Noun

paradiastole (plural paradiastoles)

  1. (rhetoric) A form of euphemism in which a positive synonym is substituted for a negative word.

Forms of paradiastole

pluralparadiastoles

Origin of paradiastole

From Ancient Greek παραδιαστολή (paradiastolḗ), from παρα- (para-, “next to, alongside”) + διαστολή (diastolḗ, “separation, distinction”).

Questions about paradiastole

What does paradiastole mean?
Paradiastole means a form of euphemism in which a positive synonym is substituted for a negative word.
What part of speech is paradiastole?
Paradiastole is a noun.
How do you pronounce paradiastole?
Paradiastole is pronounced /ˌpɛrədaɪˈæstəli/ (US).
What is the plural of paradiastole?
The plural of paradiastole is paradiastoles.

Words near paradiastole in the dictionary

  1. paradiapause
  2. paradiapaused
  3. paradiapophyseal
  4. paradiapophyses
  5. paradiapophysis
  6. paradiastole
  7. paradiastoles
  8. paradiastolic
  9. paradiazine
  10. paradiazines
  11. paradichlorobenzene

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: paradiastole (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: “paradiastole.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/paradiastole. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.