weaselword
weaselword is the alternative spelling of weasel word.
Meaning of weasel word
Noun
weasel word (plural weasel words)
- A word that negates or removes the meaning of the word it qualifies.
- 1900. Century Magazine, quoted in Facts on File Encyclopedia of Word and Phrase Origins by Robert Hendrickson (New York: Facts on File Publications, 1987)).
Weasel words are words that suck all of the life out of the words next to them just as a weasel sucks an egg and leaves the shell.
- 1900. Century Magazine, quoted in Facts on File Encyclopedia of Word and Phrase Origins by Robert Hendrickson (New York: Facts on File Publications, 1987)).
- A word used to hedge a statement, for example to make it vague, equivocal, or misleading.
- In scrapping HS2's eastern leg and descoping Northern Powerhouse Rail (NPR), Prime Minister Boris Johnson's frequent and unambiguous promises to build both have been exposed for the weasel words they were.2021 December 1, Nigel Harris, “IRP snuffs out 'levelling up'”, in RAIL, number 945, page 3
- Synonyms:
- hedge
Forms of weaselword
| plural | weaselwords |
|---|
Questions about weaselword
- What is weaselword the alternative spelling of?
- Weaselword is the alternative spelling of weasel word.
Words near weaselword in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: weaselword (page history and authors); weasel word (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: “weaselword.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/weaselword. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.