Hoping to sound profound or poetic, some writers embroider their thoughts with large words and flowery phrases. Such pretentious language is so ornate and wordy that it obscures the writer’s meaning.

The writer of the original sentence had turned to a thesaurus (a dictionary of synonyms and antonyms) in an attempt to sound authoritative. When such a writer gains enough confidence to speak in his or her own voice, pretentious language disappears.

Euphemisms—nice-sounding words or phrases substituted for words thought to sound harsh or ugly—are sometimes appropriate. Many cultures, for example, accept euphemisms when speaking or writing about excretion (I have to go to the bathroom), sexual intercourse (They did not sleep together), and the like. We may also use euphemisms out of concern for someone’s feelings. Telling parents, for example, that their daughter is “unmotivated” is more sensitive than saying she’s lazy. Tact or politeness, then, can justify an occasional euphemism.

Most euphemisms, however, are needlessly evasive or even deceitful. Like pretentious language, they obscure the intended meaning.

The term doublespeak applies to any deliberately evasive or deceptive language, including euphemisms. Doublespeak is especially common in politics and business. A military retreat is described as tactical redeployment; enhanced interrogation is a euphemism for “torture”; and downsizing really means “firing employees.”