spin doctor

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spin doctor

Where it comes from

From spin (“a favorable comment or interpretation”) + doctor. First use appears c. 1984 in the New York Times.

noun spin doctors · spindoctor

A person employed to gloss over a poor public image (or present it in a better light) in business and politics, especially after unfavourable results; a lobbyist; a PR person. Many believed that the reduction in public spending was a disaster but the spin doctors presented it as a triumph for lower taxation.
Similar: spinmeister, spinster, spin merchant

verb spin doctors · spin doctoring · spin doctored · spindoctor

idiomatic, transitive To generate spin (a favorable interpretation or bias).

Translations

Every language

noun person hired to improve public image

Español	asesor de imagen, agente de prensa
中文	公關專家 /公关专家 gōngguān zhuānjiā
Português	marqueteiro
Français	spin doctor, façonneur d’image
Deutsch	Imageberater, Schönredner, Tatsachenbeschöniger, PR-Berater, Spindoktor
Italiano	curatore di immagine, portavoce, lobbista, esperto di comunicazione
Русский	политтехнолог polittexnolog

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MLA

"spin doctor." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/spin%20doctor. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

spin doctor. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/spin%20doctor

Chicago

"spin doctor." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/spin%20doctor.

BibTeX

@misc{spin_doctor_2026,
  title = {spin doctor},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/spin%20doctor},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}