View source for Euphemism

{{Short description|Mild or indirect word or expression}}
{{Multiple issues|
{{Original research|date=August 2021}}
{{AI-generated|date=May 2026}}
{{Essay-like|date=May 2026}}
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{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2023}}
{{Not to be confused|Euthanasia|text=[[Euthanasia|Euthanism]]}}
[[File:Drugstore aisle sign with euphemisms.jpg|thumb|Sign at a [[Rite Aid]] drugstore using common euphemisms for (from top): {{bulleted list|item_style=margin-bottom:0|[[contraceptive]]s|[[menstrual pad]]s and [[tampon]]s|[[adult diaper]]s}}|alt=A yellow sign with a pointed bottom. At the top is the number 5 in an oval with a blue background. Below it are the words "family planning", "feminine hygiene", "feminine protection" and "sanitary protection"]]

A '''euphemism''' is the substitution of a potentially offensive or unpleasant word or expression with one that is more pleasant or inoffensive.<ref>{{cite dictionary |url= https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/euphemism |title=Euphemism |dictionary=Webster's Online Dictionary |access-date=16 March 2014 |archive-date=4 September 2012 |archive-url= https://archive.today/20120904143233/http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Euphemism |url-status=live}}</ref> Some euphemisms are humorous, while others use mild or neutral language to downplay certain concepts. They can often be used to soften profanity or discuss sensitive or [[Word taboo|taboo]] topics, such as [[disability]], [[Sexual intercourse|sex]], bodily functions, [[pain]], [[violence]], illness, or [[death]], in a more polite manner.

==Etymology==
''Euphemism'' comes from the [[Greek language|Greek]] word {{lang|grc-Latn|euphemia}} ({{lang|grc|εὐφημία}}), 'words of good omen'; it is a compound of {{lang|grc-Latn|eû}} ({{lang|grc|εὖ}}), meaning 'good, well', and {{lang|grc-Latn|phḗmē}} ({{lang|grc|φήμη}}), meaning 'prophetic speech; rumour, talk'.<ref>{{Cite dictionary |first1=Henry George |last1=Liddell |first2=Robert |last2=Scott |dictionary=A Greek-English Lexicon |title=φήμη |url= https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.04.0057:entry=fh/mh |access-date=27 May 2023 |via=Perseus Project at Tufts University}}</ref> ''[[Eupheme (deity)|Eupheme]]'' is a reference to the female Greek spirit of words of praise and positivity, etc. The term ''euphemism'' itself was used as a euphemism by the [[ancient Greeks]], with the meaning "to keep a holy silence" (speaking well by not speaking at all).<ref>{{cite dictionary |title=euphemism (n.) |url= http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=euphemism |dictionary=Online Etymology Dictionary |access-date=7 January 2014 |archive-date=7 January 2014 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20140107191853/http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=euphemism |url-status=live}}</ref>

==Purpose==
===Avoidance===
Euphemisms are often used to avoid discussing sensitive topics such as [[death]], [[sexual intercourse|sex]], and bodily functions. They can be created for various reasons, including innocent intentions or deceptive purposes. Some euphemisms serve progressive causes.<ref>{{cite news |date=19 May 2023 |title=How strategic lingo swallowed progressive thought |url=https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/how-strategic-lingo-swallowed-progressive-thought#google_vignette |newspaper=Washington Examiner}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |date=2 March 2023 |title=The moral case against equity language |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2023/04/equity-language-guides-sierra-club-banned-words/673085/ |magazine=The Atlantic}}</ref> The term "late" is identified as a euphemism for 'dead' or 'overdue' in the [[Oxford University Press]]'s ''Dictionary of Euphemisms''.<ref name="euphemisms">{{cite book |last=Holder |first=R. W. |title=Dictionary of Euphemisms |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |year=2008 |isbn=978-0-19-9235179 |page=242}}</ref>

===Mitigation===
Euphemisms are often used to soften or downplay the severity of large-scale injustices, [[War crime|war crimes]], or other events that officials may want to avoid directly addressing. For example, the lack of written evidence detailing the exterminations at [[Auschwitz concentration camp]], despite the significant number of victims, is "directives for the extermination process obscured in bureaucratic euphemisms".<ref name="MyUser_Newyorker.com_December_1_2015c">{{cite magazine |last=Ryback |first=Timothy |date=15 November 1993 |title=Evidence of Evil |url=https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1993/11/15/evidence-of-evil |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180618175241/https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1993/11/15/evidence-of-evil |archive-date=18 June 2018 |access-date=1 December 2015 |magazine=[[The New Yorker]]}}</ref> Similarly, during the 2022 [[Russian invasion of Ukraine]], Russian President [[Vladimir Putin]] referred to the invasion as a "[[special military operation]]" in his speech announcing the start of the war.<ref>{{cite news |date=29 December 2022 |title=Year in a word: 'Special operation' |url=https://www.ft.com/content/3677c63a-107f-41cd-96e0-7b131b4bd150 |newspaper=Financial Times}}</ref>

Euphemisms are sometimes employed to soften resistance to political actions. For instance, linguist [[Ghil'ad Zuckermann]] noted that Israeli Prime Minister [[Benjamin Netanyahu]] used the neutral Hebrew lexical item {{lang|he|פעימות}} {{lang|he-Latn|peimót}} (meaning 'beatings (of the heart)') instead of {{lang|he|נסיגה}} {{lang|he-Latn|nesigá}} ('withdrawal') to describe the phases of Israel's withdrawal from the [[West Bank]] {{crossreference|(see [[Wye River Memorandum]])}}. This substitution aimed to reduce opposition from right-wing Israelis to the withdrawal process,<ref name="language">{{Cite book |last=Zuckermann |first=Ghil'ad |year=2003 |title=Language Contact and Lexical Enrichment in Israeli Hebrew |publisher=Springer |url=http://www.palgrave.com/br/book/9781403917232 |url-access=subscription |series=Palgrave Studies in Language History and Language Change |page=181 |isbn=9781403938695}}</ref> with {{lang|he-Latn|Peimót}} serving as a euphemism for 'withdrawal'.<ref name="language" />{{rp|181}}

===Rhetoric===
Euphemism is often used to soften the [[Valence (psychology)|emotional impact]] of a description, serving as a [[Rhetorical strategies|persuasive]] tool to influence how something is perceived.{{Example needed|date=November 2025}}

==Controversial use==
Using a euphemism can be controversial, as shown in the following examples:

* ''[[Affirmative action]]'', a preference for minorities or the historically disadvantaged, usually in employment or academic admissions. This term is sometimes said to be a euphemism for [[reverse discrimination]], or, in the UK, positive discrimination, which suggests an intentional bias that might be legally prohibited or otherwise unpalatable.<ref>''Affirmative action'' as euphemism:
* {{cite news |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title=Style Guide |url= http://www.economist.com/style-guide/affirmative-action |quote=Uglier even than human-rights abuses and more obscure even than comfort station, affirmative action is a euphemism with little to be said for it. |newspaper=[[The Economist]] |date=10 March 2013 |access-date=10 March 2013 |archive-date=3 February 2014 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20140203132033/http://www.economist.com/style-guide/affirmative-action |url-status=live}}
* {{cite news |last1=Custred |first1=Glynn |last2=Campbell |first2=Tom |name-list-style=amp |title=Affirmative Action: A Euphemism for Racial Profiling by Government |url= http://news.investors.com/052201-488507-affirmative-action-a-euphemism-for-racial-profiling-by-government.aspx |newspaper=[[Investors Business Daily]] |date=2 May 2001 |access-date=10 March 2013}}
* {{cite news |last=Bayan |first=Rick |title=Affirmative Action |url= http://newmoderate.com/the-issues/affirmative-action/ |newspaper=The New Moderate |date=December 2009 |access-date=2013-03-10 |archive-date=2013-03-06 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20130306040414/http://newmoderate.com/the-issues/affirmative-action/ |url-status=live}}
* {{cite web |url= https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/george-f-will-the-supreme-court-tangles-over-euphemisms-for-affirmative-action/2014/04/25/9bed399c-cbd1-11e3-95f7-7ecdde72d2ea_story.html |url-access=subscription |title=The Supreme Court tangles over euphemisms for affirmative action |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |date=25 April 2014 |first=George F. |last=Will |access-date=26 May 2015 |archive-date=26 May 2015 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20150526172148/http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/george-f-will-the-supreme-court-tangles-over-euphemisms-for-affirmative-action/2014/04/25/9bed399c-cbd1-11e3-95f7-7ecdde72d2ea_story.html |url-status=live}}
* {{cite book |first1=M. Ali |last1=Raza |first2=A. |last2=Janell Anderson |first3=Harry Glynn |last3=Custred |title=The Ups and Downs of Affirmative Action Preferences |chapter-url= https://books.google.com/books?id=7vIN4pDAVlIC&pg=PA75 |chapter=Chapter 4: Affirmative Action Diversity: A Euphemism for Preferences, Quotas, and Set-asides |date=1999| publisher=Greenwood |isbn=9780275967130 |page=75 |access-date=27 October 2015 |archive-date=25 April 2016 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160425233643/https://books.google.com/books?id=7vIN4pDAVlIC&pg=PA75 |url-status=live}}
* {{cite book |title=A Journalist's Guide to Live Direct and Unbiased News Translation |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=lziSy2QJPjYC&pg=PA195 |date=2010 |publisher=Writescope |quote=In modern times, various social and political movements have introduced euphemisms, from affirmative action to political correctness to international conflicts, which are linguistically and culturally driven. |isbn=9780957751187 |page=195 |access-date=27 October 2015 |archive-date=3 May 2016 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160503231135/https://books.google.com/books?id=lziSy2QJPjYC&pg=PA195 |url-status=live}}</ref>
* ''[[Enhanced interrogation techniques|Enhanced interrogation]]'' is a euphemism for torture. For example, columnist [[David Brooks (journalist)|David Brooks]] called the use of this term for practices at [[Abu Ghraib prison|Abu Ghraib]], [[Guantanamo Bay detention camp|Guantanamo Bay]], and elsewhere an effort to "dull the moral sensibility".<ref>''Enhanced interrogation'' as euphemism:
* {{cite news |first1=David |last1=Brooks |first2=Mark |last2=Shields |first3=Judy |last3=Woodruff |title=Shields and Brooks on the CIA interrogation report, spending bill sticking point |url= https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/shields-brooks-cia-interrogation-report-spending-bill-sticking-points |quote=[T]he report ... cuts through the ocean of euphemism, the EITs, enhanced interrogation techniques, and all that. It gets to straight language. Torture – it's obviously torture. ... the metaphor and the euphemism is designed to dull the moral sensibility. |work=[[PBS Newshour]] |date=12 December 2014 |access-date=14 December 2014 |archive-date=16 September 2017 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20170916002826/http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/shields-brooks-cia-interrogation-report-spending-bill-sticking-points/ |url-status=live}}
* {{cite news |url= https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna42887700 |first1=Brian |last1=Williams |first2=Leon |last2=Panetta |title=Transcript of interview with CIA director Panetta |work=NBC News |date=3 May 2011 |quote=Enhanced interrogation has always been a kind of handy euphemism (for torture) |access-date=21 August 2011 |archive-date=15 April 2022 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20220415140227/https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna42887700 |url-status=live}}
* {{cite news |last=Pickering |first=Thomas |title=America must atone for the torture it inflicted |url= https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/thomas-r-pickering-torture-runs-counter-to-americas-values/2013/04/16/1c4488f0-a15a-11e2-82bc-511538ae90a4_story.html |quote=Let's stop resorting to euphemisms and call 'enhanced interrogation techniques' – including but not limited to waterboarding – what they actually are: torture. |url-access=subscription |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |date=April 16, 2013 |access-date=22 April 2013 |archive-date=19 April 2013 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20130419144738/http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/thomas-r-pickering-torture-runs-counter-to-americas-values/2013/04/16/1c4488f0-a15a-11e2-82bc-511538ae90a4_story.html |url-status=live}}</ref>{{pb}}

===Online===
"[[Algospeak]]" refers to the use of euphemisms online to circumvent automated moderation on platforms like [[Meta Platforms|Meta]] and [[TikTok]].<ref>{{cite news |last=Lorenz |first=Taylor |title=Internet 'algospeak' is changing our language in real time, from 'nip nops' to 'le dollar bean' |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=8 April 2022 |url= https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2022/04/08/algospeak-tiktok-le-dollar-bean/ |url-access=subscription |access-date=26 October 2023 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231220223103/https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2022/04/08/algospeak-tiktok-le-dollar-bean/ |archive-date= December 20, 2023 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Kreuz |first=Roger J. |date=2023-04-13 |title=What is 'algospeak'? Inside the newest version of linguistic subterfuge |url=https://theconversation.com/what-is-algospeak-inside-the-newest-version-of-linguistic-subterfuge-203460 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240206020407/https://theconversation.com/what-is-algospeak-inside-the-newest-version-of-linguistic-subterfuge-203460 |archive-date=February 6, 2024 |website=The Conversation |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Tellez |first=Anthony |date=January 31, 2023 |title='Mascara,' 'Unalive,' 'Corn': What Common Social Media Algospeak Words Actually Mean |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/anthonytellez/2023/01/31/mascara-unalive-corn-what-common-social-media-algospeak-words-actually-mean/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231101142728/https://www.forbes.com/sites/anthonytellez/2023/01/31/mascara-unalive-corn-what-common-social-media-algospeak-words-actually-mean/?sh=5f84a902a085 |archive-date=Nov 1, 2023 |website=[[Forbes]] |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Levine |first1=Alexandra S. |date=September 19, 2022 |title=From Camping to Cheese Pizza, 'Algospeak' is Taking over Social Media |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/alexandralevine/2022/09/16/algospeak-social-media-survey/ |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231031173232/https://www.forbes.com/sites/alexandralevine/2022/09/16/algospeak-social-media-survey/?sh=41eb61ae55e1 |archive-date=October 31, 2023 |website=[[Forbes]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Klug |first1=Daniel |title=Companion Proceedings of the ACM Web Conference 2023 |last2=Steen |first2=Ella |last3=Yurechko |first3=Kathryn |date=2023 |isbn=9781450394192 |pages=234–237 |chapter=How Algorithm Awareness Impacts Algospeak Use on TikTok |doi=10.1145/3543873.3587355 |chapter-url=https://dl.acm.org/doi/fullHtml/10.1145/3543873.3587355 |s2cid=258377709}}</ref> It has been observed in discussions related to the [[Israeli–Palestinian conflict]].<ref>{{cite news |last=Nix |first=Naomi |date=20 October 2023 |title=Pro-Palestinian creators use secret spellings, code words to evade social media algorithms |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2023/10/20/palestinian-tiktok-instagram-algospeak-israel-hamas/ |access-date=26 October 2023 |newspaper=The Washington Post}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |date=23 October 2023 |title=How pro-Palestinians are using 'Algospeak' to dodge social media scrutiny and disseminate hateful rhetoric |url=https://www.foxnews.com/tech/how-pro-palestinians-using-algospeak-dodge-social-media-scrutiny-disseminate-hateful-rhetoric |website=[[Fox News]]}}</ref>

==Formation methods==
{{more citations needed section|find=euphemism|find2=phonetic deformation|date=July 2025}}

=== Modification<!--Old section names; they may have incoming links to them.--> ===

==== Minced oaths (phonetically) ====
Phonetic euphemism involves replacing offensive or blasphemous words with milder alternatives to reduce their impact. This practice, known as ''taboo deformation'' or ''[[minced oath]]'' includes altering the pronunciation or spelling of taboo words, such as [[profanity]]. Examples of this include:

* Shortening or "clipping" the term, such as ''Jeez'' ('Jesus') and ''what the—'' ('what the hell').
* Mispronunciations, such as ''oh my gosh'' ('oh my God'), ''frickin'' ('fucking'), ''darn'' ('damn') or ''oh shoot'' ('oh shit'). This is also referred to as a minced oath. ''[[Feck]]'' is a minced oath for 'fuck', originating in [[Hiberno-English]] and popularised outside of Ireland by the British [[sitcom]] ''[[Father Ted]]''.
* Using [[acronym]]s, such as ''SOB'' ('son of a bitch'). Sometimes, the word ''word'' or ''bomb'' is added after it, such as ''F-word'' ('fuck'), etc. The letter can also be phonetically respelled.

==== Substitutions (semantically) ====
Pleasant, positive, or neutral terms are commonly used in various contexts, such as sociopolitical movements, [[marketing]], [[public relations]], and [[advertising]] campaigns. These terms are often deliberately chosen to convey a specific message or create a certain impression.

* ''meatpacking company'' for 'slaughterhouse' (avoids entirely the subject of killing)
* ''natural issue'' or ''love child'' for 'bastard'
* ''let go'' for 'fired/sacked'

[[Cockney rhyming slang]] can be used to soften offensive language. For instance, calling someone a ''berk'' is less harsh than using the more explicit ''[[cunt]]''. ''Berk'' is derived from [[Berkeley Hunt]],<ref>although properly pronounced in upper-class British-English "barkley"</ref> which rhymes with ''cunt.<ref>{{cite dictionary |title=berk |dictionary=Collins Dictionary |url=http://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/berk |access-date=22 July 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140727055231/http://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/berk |archive-date=27 July 2014}}</ref>''

=== Foreign words ===
Foreign language expressions or words may be imported for use or derived for a new word as a euphemism. For example, the French word {{lang|fr|enceinte}} sometimes became "''encient''" or was used instead of the English word ''pregnant'';<ref name="MW">{{cite dictionary |title=enceinte |dictionary=Merriam-Webster |url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/enceinte |access-date=20 May 2017 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170613192557/https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/enceinte |archive-date=13 June 2017}}</ref> {{lang|fr|abattoir}} into "''abbatoire''" became ''[[slaughterhouse]]'', although in French the word retains its explicit violent meaning, 'a place for beating down', conveniently lost on non-French speakers; ''[[entrepreneur]]'' for ''[[businessman]]'' adds glamour; ''douche'' (French for 'shower') for vaginal irrigation device; and ''[[bidet]]'' ('little pony') for vessel for anal washing. Although in English physical "[[Disability|handicaps]]" are often described with euphemisms, in French the English word ''handicap'' is used as a euphemism for the problematic words {{lang|fr|infirmité}} or {{lang|fr|invalidité}}.<ref>{{Cite dictionary |title=handicap |dictionary=Cambridge Dictionary |url=https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english-french/handicap}}</ref>

=== Periphrasis & circumlocution ===
[[Periphrasis]] or [[circumlocution]] is a common linguistic phenomenon where speakers "speak around" a given word or concept without directly stating it. This practice often creates widely accepted euphemisms that substitute certain words or ideas.

=== Slang ===
{{see also|Slang}}
The use of a term with a softer connotation, although it shares the same meaning. For instance, ''screwed up'' is a euphemism for 'fucked up'; ''hook-up'' and ''laid'' are euphemisms for '[[sexual intercourse]]'.

=== Understatement ===
Euphemisms formed from [[understatement]]s include ''asleep'' for dead and ''drinking'' for consuming alcohol. "[[Tired and emotional]]" is a notorious British euphemism for "drunk", one of many [[Recurring jokes in Private Eye#Euphemisms|recurring jokes]] popularized by the satirical magazine ''[[Private Eye]]''; it has been used by MPs to avoid [[unparliamentary language]].

=== Metaphor ===
* [[Metaphor]]s (''beat the meat'', ''choke the chicken'', or ''jerkin' the gherkin'' for '[[masturbation]]'; ''take a dump'' and ''take a leak'' for '[[defecation]]' and '[[urination]]', respectively)
* Comparisons (''buns'' for 'buttocks', ''weed'' for '[[Cannabis (drug)|cannabis]]')
* [[Metonymy]] (''The Pentagon'' for the US Department of Defense, ''Wall Street'' for the entire US financial sector)

==Doublespeak==
{{main article|Doublespeak}}

[[Bureaucracy|Bureaucracies]] intentionally frequently spawn euphemisms as [[doublespeak]] expressions. For example, in the past, the U.S. military used the term "[[sunshine units]]" for contamination by [[Radionuclide|radioactive isotopes]].<ref>{{cite report |last=McCool |first=W. C. |date=1957-02-06 |title=Return of Rongelapese to their Home Island&nbsp;– Note by the Secretary |publisher=[[United States Atomic Energy Commission]] |url= http://worf.eh.doe.gov/ihp/chron/A43.PDF |access-date=7 November 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20070925185914/http://worf.eh.doe.gov/ihp/chron/A43.PDF |archive-date=25 September 2007}}</ref> The United States [[Central Intelligence Agency]] refers to systematic [[torture]] as "[[enhanced interrogation techniques]]".<ref>{{Cite book |last=McCoy |first=Alfred W. |url= http://archive.org/details/isbn_9780805082487 |title=A Question of Torture: CIA Interrogation, from the Cold War to the War on Terror |date=2006 |location=New York |publisher=Metropolitan / Owl Book / Henry Holt and Co. |via=Internet Archive |isbn=9780805082487}}</ref> An effective death sentence in the Soviet Union during the [[Great Purge]] often used the clause "imprisonment [[Without the right of correspondence|without right to correspondence]];" the person sentenced would be shot soon after conviction.<ref>{{cite book |last=Solzhenitsyn |first=Alexander |author-link=Alexander Solzhenitsyn |date=1974 |title=[[The Gulag Archipelago]] |volume=I |location=New York |publisher=Harper Perennial |page=6 |isbn=006092103X}}</ref> As early as 1939, Nazi official [[Reinhard Heydrich]] used the term {{lang|de|[[Sonderbehandlung]]}} ("special treatment") to mean [[summary execution]] of persons viewed as "disciplinary problems" by the Nazis even before the [[the Holocaust|systematic extermination of the Jews]]. [[Heinrich Himmler]], aware that the word had come to mean murder, replaced that euphemism with one in which Jews would be "guided" (to their deaths) through the slave-labor and extermination camps<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.holocaust-history.org/quick-facts/special-treatment.shtml |title=Holocaust-history.org |website=Holocaust-History.org |access-date=20 May 2017 |url-status=dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20130528142643/http://www.holocaust-history.org/quick-facts/special-treatment.shtml |archive-date=28 May 2013}}</ref> after having been "evacuated" (to their doom). Such was part of the formulation of the {{lang|de|[[Final Solution|Endlösung der Judenfrage]]}} (the "Final Solution to the Jewish Question"), which became known to the outside world during the [[Nuremberg Trials]].<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10005477 |title=Wannsee Conference and the 'Final Solution' |access-date=5 June 2015 |archive-date=10 July 2018 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20180710195711/https://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10005477 |url-status=live}}</ref>

== <span class="anchor" id="Euphemism treadmill"></span> Lifespan ==
{{Hatnote|For dysphemisms that became euphemistic, see [[Reappropriation]].}}[[File:All-Negro Comics 1.jpg|thumb|''[[Negro]]'' is an example of a once-innocuous euphemism that has become outdated and offensive.]]
Over time, euphemisms can become taboo words through the linguistic process of [[semantic change]] known as [[pejoration]]. In 1974, University of Oregon linguist Sharon Henderson Taylor dubbed the '''''euphemism cycle'''''<ref>{{cite journal |last=Henderson Taylor |first=Sharon |date=1974 |title=Terms for Low Intelligence |journal=American Speech |volume=49 |issue=3/4 |pages=197–207 |doi= 10.2307/3087798 |jstor=3087798}}</ref> also frequently referred to as the '''''euphemism treadmill''''', as worded by [[Steven Pinker]].<ref>{{cite news |last1=Pinker |first1=Steven |title=Opinion {{!}} The Game of the Name |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1994/04/05/opinion/the-game-of-the-name.html |work=The New York Times |date=5 April 1994}}</ref> For instance, the place of human defecation is a needy candidate for a euphemism in all eras. ''Toilet'' is an 18th-century euphemism, replacing the older euphemism ''house-of-office'', which in turn replaced the even older euphemisms ''privy-house'' and ''bog-house''.<ref name="Bell 1953">{{cite book|last=Bell |first=Vicars Walker |title=On Learning the English Tongue |date=1953 |publisher=Faber & Faber |quote=The Honest Jakes or Privy has graduated via Offices to the final horror of Toilet. |page=19 <!--|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=1-8WAAAAIAAJ&q=toilet |via=Google Books-->}}</ref> In the 20th century, where the old euphemisms ''lavatory'' (a place where one washes) and ''[[toilet]]'' (a place where one dresses<ref>French ''toile'', fabric, a form of curtain behind which washing, dressing and hair-dressing were performed (Larousse, {{lang|fr|Dictionnaire de la langue française}}, Paris: Lexis, 1979, p. 1891)</ref>) had grown from widespread usage (e.g., in the United States) to being synonymous with the crude act they sought to deflect, they were sometimes replaced with ''bathroom'' (a place where one bathes), ''washroom'' (a place where one washes), or ''restroom'' (a place where one rests), or even by the extreme form ''powder room'' (a place where one applies facial cosmetics). The form ''water closet'', often shortened to ''W.C.'', is a less deflective form.<ref>{{Cite web |last=AnaBerestean |date=2025-08-04 |title=Why Do We Call It a "Restroom"? The Origins of Bathroom Terminology |url=https://portlandloo.com/why-do-we-call-it-a-restroom-the-origins-of-bathroom-terminology/ |access-date=2025-11-03 |website=The Portland Loo |language=en-US}}</ref> The word ''[[shit]]'' appears to have originally been a euphemism for defecation in Pre-Germanic, as the [[Proto-Indo-European language|Proto-Indo-European root]] {{lang|ine-x-proto|sḱeyd-}}, from which it was derived, meant 'to cut off'.<ref name="ringe">{{cite Q |Q131605459 |first=Don |last=Ringe |author-link=Donald Ringe |mode=cs1}}</ref>

Another example in American English is the replacement of "[[colored people]]" with "[[Negro]]" (a euphemism from a foreign language), which itself came to be replaced by either "African American" or "Black".<ref name="npr.org">{{cite web| url=https://www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/2014/11/07/362273449/why-we-have-so-many-terms-for-people-of-color |title=Why We Have So Many Terms for 'People of Color' |website=[[NPR]] |date=7 November 2014 |last=Demby |first=Gene |access-date=12 December 2019 |archive-date=12 December 2019 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20191212062522/https://www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/2014/11/07/362273449/why-we-have-so-many-terms-for-people-of-color |url-status=live}}</ref> Also in the United States, the term "ethnic minorities" in the 2010s has been replaced by "[[people of color]]".<ref name="npr.org"/>

"[[Venereal disease]]", which euphemistically associated a contagious infection with [[Venus (mythology)|Venus]], the goddess of love, lost its deflective force as the word ''venereal'' became more closely associated with the infection than the goddess and was abbreviated "VD". Later, this was replaced by the more clinical abbreviation "STD" (sexually transmitted disease), which has since been replaced by "STI" (sexually transmitted infection) in an effort to de-stigmatize testing for asymptomatic patients before they show disease symptoms.<ref>{{cite web|author=<!-- not stated -->|date=March 25, 2024|title=About Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs) |url=https://www.cdc.gov/sti/about/index.html|publisher=Centers for Disease Control and Prevention|access-date=March 27, 2025}}</ref>

People with intellectual disabilities were originally defined with words such as "morons" or "imbeciles", which then became commonly used insults. The medical diagnosis was changed to "mentally retarded", which morphed into the pejorative "[[Retard (pejorative)|retard]]" against those with intellectual disabilities. To avoid the negative connotations of their diagnoses, students who need accommodations because of such conditions are often labeled as "special needs" instead, although the words "special" or "SPED" (short for "special education") have long been schoolyard insults.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Hodges |first=Rick |date=1 July 2020 |title=The Rise and Fall of 'Mentally Retarded' |url= https://humanparts.medium.com/the-rise-and-fall-of-mentally-retarded-e3b9eea23018 |access-date=13 February 2021 |website=Medium |archive-date=7 December 2020 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20201207034556/https://humanparts.medium.com/the-rise-and-fall-of-mentally-retarded-e3b9eea23018 |url-status=live}}</ref>{{Better source needed|reason=A blog author's hearsay isn't reliable.|date=January 2022}} As of August 2013, the [[Social Security Administration]] replaced the term "mental retardation" with "[[intellectual disability]]".<ref>{{Cite web |date=1 August 2013 |title=Change in Terminology: 'Mental Retardation' to 'Intellectual Disability' |url= https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2013/08/01/2013-18552/change-in-terminology-mental-retardation-to-intellectual-disability |access-date=10 March 2021 |website=Federal Register |archive-date=8 March 2021 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20210308032555/http://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2013/08/01/2013-18552/change-in-terminology-mental-retardation-to-intellectual-disability |url-status=live}}</ref> Since 2012, that change in terminology has been adopted by the [[National Institutes of Health]] and the medical industry at large.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Nash |first1=Chris |last2=Hawkins |first2=Ann |last3=Kawchuk |first3=Janet |last4=Shea |first4=Sarah E. |date=17 February 2012 |title=What's in a name? Attitudes surrounding the use of the term 'mental retardation' |journal=Paediatrics & Child Health |volume=17 |issue=2 |pages=71–74 |doi=10.1093/pch/17.2.71 |issn=1205-7088 |pmc=3299349 |pmid=23372396}}</ref> Numerous [[List of disability-related terms with negative connotations|disability-related euphemisms have negative connotations]].

==See also==
{{div col|colwidth=30em}}
* [[Algospeak]]
* [[Call a spade a spade]]
* [[Code word (figure of speech)]]
* [[Dead Parrot sketch]]
* [[Distinction without a difference]]
* [[Dog whistle (politics)]]
* [[Double entendre]]
* [[Dysphemism]]
* [[Emotive conjugation]]
* [[Expurgation]] (often called bowdlerization, after [[Thomas Bowdler]])
* [[Framing (social sciences)]]
* [[Minimisation (psychology)]]
* [[Paradiastole]] 
* [[Persuasive definition]]
* [[Polite fiction]]
* [[Political correctness]]
* [[Political euphemism]]
* [[Pun]]s
* [[Sexual slang]]
* [[Spin (propaganda)]]
* [[Word play]]
* [[Word taboo]]
{{div col end}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Further reading==
* {{cite book |author1-link=Keith Allan (linguist) |last1=Allan |first1=Keith |author2-link=Kate Burridge |last2=Burridge |first2=Kate |title=Euphemism & Dysphemism: Language Used as Shield and Weapon |publisher=Oxford University Press |date=1991 |isbn=0735102880}}
* {{cite book |author-link=Émile Benveniste |last=Benveniste |first=Émile |chapter=Euphémismes anciens and modernes |language=fr |title=Problèmes de linguistique générale |volume=1 |pages=308–314}} Originally published in: {{cite book |title=Die Sprache |volume=I |date=1949 |pages=116–122}}
* {{cite EB1911|wstitle=Euphemism |volume=9 |short=x}}
* {{cite book|title=Fair of Speech |first=D. J. |last=Enright |publisher=Oxford University Press |date=1986 |isbn=0192830600 |author-link=D. J. Enright}}
* {{cite book |last=Fussell |first=Paul |title=Class: A Guide Through the American Status System |publisher=Touchstone / Simon & Schuster |date=1983 |isbn=0671792253}}
* {{cite journal |last1=Heidepeter |first1=Philipp |author2-link=Ursula Reutner |last2=Reutner |first2=Ursula |title=When Humour Questions Taboo: A Typology of Twisted Euphemism Use |journal=Pragmatics & Cognition |volume=28 |issue=1 |pages=138–166 |issn=0929-0907 |date=2021|doi=10.1075/pc.20027.hei }}
* {{cite book |last=Holder |first=R. W. |title=How Not to Say What You Mean: A Dictionary of Euphemisms |publisher=Oxford University Press |date=2003 |isbn=0198607628|url=https://archive.org/details/hownottosaywhaty0000hold_e8p5}}
* {{cite book |last=Keyes |first=Ralph |title=Euphemania: Our Love Affair with Euphemisms |publisher=Little, Brown and Co. |date=2010 |isbn=9780316056564}}
* ''[[Maledicta|Maledicta: The International Journal of Verbal Aggression]]:''. {{ISSN|0363-3659}}. {{LCCN|77649633}}. {{OCLC|3188018}}.
* {{cite journal |last1=McGlone |first1=M. S. |last2=Beck |first2=G. |last3=Pfiester |first3=R. A. |date=2006 |title=Contamination and Camouflage in Euphemisms |journal=Communication Monographs |volume=73 |issue=3 |pages=261–282 |doi=10.1080/03637750600794296 }}
* {{cite book |last=Rawson |first=Hugh |title=A Dictionary of Euphemism & Other Doublespeak |edition=2nd |date=1995 |publisher=Crown Publishers |isbn=0517702010}}
* {{cite book |last=Smyth |first=Herbert Weir |author-link=Herbert Weir Smyth |date=1920 |title=Greek Grammar |location=Cambridge, Massachusetts |publisher=Harvard University Press |page=678}} Reprint: {{ISBN|0674362500}}.

==External links==
* {{Wiktionary-inline|euphemism}}

{{Figures of speech}}
{{censorship}}
{{Media manipulation}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Euphemisms| ]]
[[Category:Censorship]]
[[Category:Connotation]]
[[Category:Figures of speech]]
[[Category:Linguistic controversies]]
[[Category:Propaganda techniques]]
[[Category:Self-censorship]]
[[Category:Taboo]]