doublespeak
Language hiding truth
Doublespeak is language designed to obscure, disguise, or reverse meaning—making the unpleasant sound acceptable or the simple sound profound.
It encompasses euphemisms, jargon, and deliberately ambiguous phrasing: The company announced a "workforce reduction" of 2,000 employees.
Unlike straightforward lies, doublespeak technically says something while meaning another.
The term derives from George Orwell's concepts of "doublethink" and "newspeak" in *1984*.
Intentional deceptive falsehoods
- misrepresentationFalse or misleading statement
- propagandaBiased information for influence
- spinRapid rotation around axis
- liesDeliberate untruths
falsehood · deceit · manipulation · distortion · fabrication · prevarication · obfuscation · misdirection
Propagandistic distorted language
- Big BrotherTotalitarian surveillance authority
- thoughtcrimeProhibited beliefs under authoritarianism
- Ministry of TruthState falsification agency
- memory holeDevice for erasing history
unperson · thought police · blackwhite · goodthink · duckspeak · telescreen · rectify · vaporize
Trendy technical jargon
- corporatespeakEmpty business jargon
- legaleseAttorneys' technical jargon
- bureaucrateseWordy governmental language
- gobbledygookPretentious unintelligible language
technobabble · weasel words · synergy · leverage · optics · moving forward · circle back · stakeholder
Absence of precision
- evasivenessTendency to avoid directness
- hedgingNoncommittal maneuvering
- noncommittalNot expressing clear opinion
- weaselingEvasively escaping responsibility
unclear · nebulous · murky · opaque · imprecision · equivocating · fence-sitting · mealy-mouthed
Prepared discussion themes
- plausible deniabilityArranged protection from accountability
- non-denial denialEvasive non-answer mimicking refutation
- messagingSending written digital communications
- framingStructural or contextual shaping
narrative control · damage control · walkback · dog whistle · wedge issue · astroturfing · manufacturing consent · agitprop
Making unpleasant seem pleasant
- sanitizingEliminating harmful microorganisms
- whitewashingConcealing unpleasant facts
- softeningBecoming less firm
- downplayingDiminishing perceived significance
circumlocution · understatement · coded language · collateral damage · ethnic cleansing · enhanced interrogation · restructuring · neutralize
disinformation
Intentional deceptive falsehoods
- misrepresentationFalse or misleading statement
- propagandaBiased information for influence
- spinRapid rotation around axis
lies · falsehood · deceit · manipulation · distortion · fabrication · prevarication · obfuscation · misdirection · subterfuge
newspeak
Propagandistic distorted language
- Big BrotherTotalitarian surveillance authority
- thoughtcrimeProhibited beliefs under authoritarianism
- Ministry of TruthState falsification agency
memory hole · unperson · thought police · blackwhite · goodthink · duckspeak · telescreen · rectify · vaporize
buzzwords
Trendy technical jargon
- corporatespeakEmpty business jargon
- legaleseAttorneys' technical jargon
- bureaucrateseWordy governmental language
gobbledygook · technobabble · weasel words · synergy · leverage · optics · moving forward · circle back · stakeholder · deliverables
vagueness
Absence of precision
- evasivenessTendency to avoid directness
- hedgingNoncommittal maneuvering
- noncommittalNot expressing clear opinion
weaseling · unclear · nebulous · murky · opaque · imprecision · equivocating · fence-sitting · mealy-mouthed · slippery
talking points
Prepared discussion themes
- plausible deniabilityArranged protection from accountability
- non-denial denialEvasive non-answer mimicking refutation
- messagingSending written digital communications
framing · narrative control · damage control · walkback · dog whistle · wedge issue · astroturfing · manufacturing consent · agitprop · psyops
sugarcoating
Making unpleasant seem pleasant
- sanitizingEliminating harmful microorganisms
- whitewashingConcealing unpleasant facts
- softeningBecoming less firm
downplaying · circumlocution · understatement · coded language · collateral damage · ethnic cleansing · enhanced interrogation · restructuring · neutralize · pacification
- Dystopia1984, Nineteen Eighty-Four, dystopian fiction, totalitarianism, Brave New World
- blatherbabble, balderdash, baloney, blarney, blather
- cunningcunning, craftiness, crafty, guile, slyness
- empty talkidle talk, hot air, idle chatter, drivel, babble
- gibberishgibberish, nonsense, babble, babbling, drivel
- slangslang, jargon, lingo, argot, cant
doublespeakplain speech
Unembellished verbal expression
straight talk · plain language · candor · frankness · directness
doublespeaktruth-telling
Communicating only facts
full disclosure · laying cards on the table · coming clean · show · allow
speak, double, speech, speaker, spoken, speaking, speakers, unspeakable, speechify