# weasel word

> English word · Noun

## Definitions
1. A word that negates or removes the meaning of the word it qualifies.
2. A word used to hedge a statement, for example to make it vague, equivocal, or misleading.

## Etymology
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".

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/weasel-word