weasel word
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weasel word
Where it comes from
Initially a reference to weasels' practice of making small holes in eggs and then eating the contents, leaving the shell; later sometimes taken as a reference to the weasel's "wriggling, evasive character".
noun 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.
-
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.
Similar: hedge
verb weasel words · weasel wording · weasel worded
- To use weasel words. Now Sears looked down at the person fate had put closer to him than anyone else in the world, and knew that Ricky was thinking that he had weasel-worded his way out of the last question.
Translations
Every language
noun word used to qualify or hedge a statement
| 中文 | 狡辯之辭 /狡辩之辞 jiǎobiànzhīcí |
|---|---|
| Deutsch | schwammiger Begriff |
Talk about this word "weasel word." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/weasel%20word. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. weasel word. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/weasel%20word "weasel word." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/weasel%20word.Cite this
@misc{weasel_word_2026,
title = {weasel word},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/weasel%20word},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
