How to use euphemism in a sentence

25 example sentences · noun

Euphemism means the use of a word or phrase to replace another one that is more offensive, blunt or vulgar. Example: “It has been remarked that nudging is also a euphemism for psychological manipulation as practiced in social engineering.”

Examples of euphemism by meaning

nounThe use of a word or phrase to replace another one that is more offensive, blunt or vulgar.

In 1946, George Orwell addressed the relationship of language to reality and suggested that euphemism, not imperfect analogy, was the real danger.2019 July 26, David J. Ulin, “Op-Ed: I’m Jewish and I don’t say this lightly: ‘Never again’ is right now in America”, in LA Times

nounA word or phrase that replaces another in this way.

Not all euphemisms are alike, but they have one thing in common: They obscure meaning rather than enhance it; they shade the truth.2004, George Carlin, “EUPHEMISMS: It's a Whole New Language”, in When Will Jesus Bring the Pork Chops?, New York: Hyperion Books, →ISBN...

More sentences with euphemism

It has been remarked that nudging is also a euphemism for psychological manipulation as practiced in social engineering.From the entry nudging
Many of these Reddit pages use a series of euphemisms that dehumanize the body.2022 April, Brad Jones, “Mom Blames LGBT Club for Teen's Suicide”, in Insight, volume 2, number 14, The Epoch Times, page 41. From the entry yeet
Remy said Dad was hunting snarks; at the time, she'd thought it was a euphemism.2019, Karl Schroeder, Stealing Worlds. From the entry snark
BuzzFeed leads the pack with what it calls “native advertising,” a euphemism for advertorials.2014, Astra Taylor, chapter 6, in The People's Platform: Taking Back Power and Culture in the Digital Age, Henry Holt and Company, →ISBN. From the entry advertorial
At the other extreme, the view has been that light-handed 'regulation' is a euphemism for 'handsoff'.2013, Brian Easton, The Whimpering of the State: Policy After MMP, →ISBN. From the entry light-handed
Until recently, London has had only one building that works by way of a euphemism for bumming.2013 February 8, Caitlin Moran, “The Shard”, in The Times. From the entry up the Oxo Tower
The Mary Worth syndrome—is a euphemism for not facing your own devils.2010, Bill Blanchet, The Reform Plan, Trafford Publishing, page 125. From the entry Mary Worth
Linguists are familiar with the phenomenon, which may be called the euphemism treadmill.2003, Steven Pinker, The Blank Slate. From the entry euphemism treadmill
Likely as not, it is simply an animation of the familiar euphemism, "the family jewels."1971 July 5, R. Z. Sheppard, “Three's a Crowd”, in Time. From the entry family jewels
The grand old euphemism treadmill has done it in.2025 July 10, John McWhorter, “It’s Time to Let Go of ‘African American’”, in The New York Times, →ISSN, archived from the original on 10…. From the entry euphemism treadmill
"Where I come from 'proactive defense' is a euphemism for "first strike." "This is not that approach, Putzho.2017 June 23, Howard Tayler, Schlock Mercenary, archived from the original on 20 Jan 2024. From the entry first strike
Instead, wrapped in whispers are ellipses, euphemisms, mumbled aporia followed by throat-clearing and a brisk change of subject.2016, Ian McEwan, Nutshell, Vintage, page 9. From the entry aporia
There were columns on blogosphere blargon, tarnation-heck euphemisms, dastardly subjunctives and even Barack and Michelle Obama ’s fist bumps.2009 September 28, Robert D. Mcfadden, “William Safire, Political Columnist and Oracle of Language, Dies at 79”, in New York Times. From the entry blargon
He denied ever using the phrase "forward-leaning" (a euphemism at the Pentagon for the most coercive techniques) over torture policy.2005 January 7, Rupert Cornwell, “We do not torture, insists Bush's choice for attorney general”, in Independent, UK, retrieved 12 Oct 2018. From the entry forward-leaning
In my recollection it was looked upon as a euphemism.1903, English Dialect Dictionary, volume IV, page 255. From the entry netty
And arguing for your need to use an explosive term, when a common euphemism will do, makes you seem defensive and tone-deaf.2023 May 24, Philip Galanes, “I Used a Slur for Accuracy When Repeating a Joke. Why Is Everyone Upset?”, in The New York Times. From the entry tone-deaf
I agreed to review this anthology entirely because “the devil’s doorbell” is the best euphemism for “clitoris” I’ve ever heard in my entire life.2016 May 3, Caroline Russomanno, “The Devil's Doorbell”, in All About Romance. From the entry devil's doorbell
'Hasbara' is the Israeli euphemism for propaganda, and there are some things, said the late ambassador Yohanan Meroz, that are not hasbarable.2015, Gideon Levi, “Israeli Propaganda Isn't Fooling Anyone – Except Israelis”, in Haaretz. From the entry hasbarable
Over the past few years, the museum has quietly begun deaccessioning—the genteel art-world euphemism for “getting rid of”—large numbers of its city artifacts.2010 June, John Freeman Gill, “Ghosts of New York”, in The Atlantic. From the entry deaccession
Ethnic cleansing is a poor euphemism for forms of culturcide, ethnocide, ghettoization, displacement of people to reservations, and forced removal of populations.2009, Timothy Pytell, “Weighing Genocide”, in Brian Levin, editor, Hate Crimes, volumes 1 (Understanding and Defining Hate Crime)…. From the entry culturicide
When a woman is giving birth, she is trying to pass a small child through her “hoo hoo” (or whatever euphemism you are comfortable with).2009, David Burgess, Three Simple Rules for Marital Bliss, →ISBN, page 39. From the entry hoo hoo
The Angels’ current facilities, Sliwa emphasized, are “ ‘sardinelike’ or, to use the street euphemism, ‘nuts to butts.’ Females who have visited felt uncomfortable.”1994 August 29, Sliwa, “Angels with Smelly Armpits”, in Monica Corcoran, New York, volume 27, number 34, page 28. From the entry nuts to butts
It was the grave inaccuracy of the bombers that led finally to the practice of "area bombing," whose effect was, in Churchill's memorable euphemism, to "dehouse" the enemy population.1989, Paul Fussell, Wartime: Understanding and Behavior in the Second World War, page 16. From the entry dehouse

Meaning of euphemism

noun The use of a word or phrase to replace another one that is more offensive, blunt or vulgar.
noun A word or phrase that replaces another in this way.

Full definition of euphemism

Questions about euphemism in a sentence

How do you use euphemism in a sentence?: Euphemism is used as a noun. For example: “It has been remarked that nudging is also a euphemism for psychological manipulation as practiced in social engineering.”
What is a short sentence with euphemism?: “The grand old euphemism treadmill has done it in.”
What does euphemism mean?: Euphemism means the use of a word or phrase to replace another one that is more offensive, blunt or vulgar.

Adapted from Wiktionary: euphemism (page history and authors) and the entries each sentence comes from. Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws chose the sentences, left out offensive ones and quotations older than 1900, and marked the word in each. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated: 2026-09-02

Cite this page: “How to use euphemism in a sentence.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/sentences/euphemism. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.