euphemize en · VERB
Etymology
Back-formation from euphemism with the suffix -ize. Compare Ancient Greek εὐφημίζω (euphēmízō).
Meanings
-
(intransitive) To utter one or more euphemisms; to speak euphemistically.
There seems to be some support here for the claim that the older group felt a greater need to euphemize in the two contexts in question.
1999, A. J. Meier, “When Is a Woman a Lady?”, in American Speech, volume 74, number 1, page 63:
-
(transitive) To describe in euphemistic terms.
The pools in general are bedded with black mud, and creamed over with oily flakes which may proceed from the tar on the vessels' sides, and may also from "decomposing animal matter," as we euphemise it now-a-days.
1857, Charles Kingsley, chapter 2, in Two Years Ago:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| euphemizing | Tense=Pres, VerbForm=Part | lexicographic | |
| euphemise | alternative | lexicographic | |
| euphemizes | Number=Sing, Person=3, Tense=Pres | lexicographic | |
| euphemized | Tense=Past, VerbForm=Part | lexicographic | |
| euphemized | Tense=Past | lexicographic |
Deriveds
euphemisation · euphemiser · euphemization · euphemizer
Translations (4)
de euphemisieren (to utter one or more euphemisms; to speak euphemistically) · hu eufemizál (to describe in euphemistic terms) · de schönreden (to describe in euphemistic terms) · hu eufemizál (to utter one or more euphemisms; to speak euphemistically)