doublespeak
Words that appear at first glance to mean one thing but actually hide (or even reverse) their true meaning are known as doublespeak. When a company "downsizes," that actually means a lot of people are losing their jobs.
Instead of a blunt, straightforward word or phrase, doublespeak uses euphemisms and ambiguity to disguise or soften a message. Military leaders might refer to "servicing the target" when they mean dropping bombs, and a used car salesman most likely prefers describing older vehicles as "pre-owned." The word doublespeak comes from the George Orwell novel 1984 and is a cross between Orwell's terms doublethink and Newspeak.
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any language that pretends to communicate but actually does not
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type of:
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equivocation, evasion
a statement that is not literally false but that cleverly avoids an unpleasant truth
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equivocation, evasion
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Vocabulary lists containing doublespeak
After hearing a story about women in her Scottish village being tried as witches during the 16th century, eleven-year-old Addie starts to draw parallels between history and her own present-day experiences of being bullied for autism.
This list includes expressions related to food and much more.
In this award-winning book, civil rights lawyer Michelle Alexander argues that the American criminal justice system unfairly targets and penalizes African Americans, resulting in long-term harm to black communities.
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