See mince words in All languages combined, or Wiktionary
{
"etymology_templates": [
{
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": "ine-pro",
"3": "*mey-",
"4": "*werh₁-",
"id": "small"
},
"expansion": "",
"name": "root"
},
{
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": "mince<t:to say or utter vaguely (not directly or frankly)><pos:transitive figurative verb>",
"3": "word<alt:words>"
},
"expansion": "mince (“to say or utter vaguely (not directly or frankly)”, transitive figurative verb) + words",
"name": "com"
},
{
"args": {
"1": "mid-1500s"
},
"expansion": "First attested in the mid-1500s",
"name": "etydate"
}
],
"etymology_text": "From mince (“to say or utter vaguely (not directly or frankly)”, transitive figurative verb) + words. First attested in the mid-1500s.",
"forms": [
{
"form": "minces words",
"tags": [
"present",
"singular",
"third-person"
]
},
{
"form": "mincing words",
"tags": [
"participle",
"present"
]
},
{
"form": "minced words",
"tags": [
"participle",
"past"
]
},
{
"form": "minced words",
"tags": [
"past"
]
},
{
"form": "mince one's words",
"tags": [
"alternative"
]
},
{
"form": "mince matters",
"tags": [
"alternative"
]
}
],
"head_templates": [
{
"args": {
"1": "*"
},
"expansion": "mince words (third-person singular simple present minces words, present participle mincing words, simple past and past participle minced words)",
"name": "en-verb"
}
],
"hyphenations": [
{
"parts": [
"mince words"
]
}
],
"lang": "English",
"lang_code": "en",
"pos": "verb",
"senses": [
{
"categories": [
{
"kind": "other",
"name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
"parents": [],
"source": "w"
},
{
"kind": "other",
"name": "English negative polarity items",
"parents": [],
"source": "w"
},
{
"kind": "other",
"name": "Entries with translation boxes",
"parents": [],
"source": "w"
},
{
"kind": "other",
"name": "Pages with 1 entry",
"parents": [],
"source": "w"
},
{
"kind": "other",
"name": "Pages with entries",
"parents": [],
"source": "w"
},
{
"kind": "other",
"name": "Polish links with redundant wikilinks",
"parents": [],
"source": "w"
},
{
"kind": "other",
"name": "Terms with Dutch translations",
"parents": [],
"source": "w"
},
{
"kind": "other",
"name": "Terms with Finnish translations",
"parents": [],
"source": "w"
},
{
"kind": "other",
"name": "Terms with French translations",
"parents": [],
"source": "w"
},
{
"kind": "other",
"name": "Terms with German translations",
"parents": [],
"source": "w"
},
{
"kind": "other",
"name": "Terms with Icelandic translations",
"parents": [],
"source": "w"
},
{
"kind": "other",
"name": "Terms with Italian translations",
"parents": [],
"source": "w"
},
{
"kind": "other",
"name": "Terms with Norwegian Bokmål translations",
"parents": [],
"source": "w"
},
{
"kind": "other",
"name": "Terms with Polish translations",
"parents": [],
"source": "w"
},
{
"kind": "other",
"name": "Terms with Portuguese translations",
"parents": [],
"source": "w"
},
{
"kind": "other",
"name": "Terms with Russian translations",
"parents": [],
"source": "w"
},
{
"kind": "other",
"name": "Terms with Spanish translations",
"parents": [],
"source": "w"
},
{
"kind": "other",
"name": "Terms with Swedish translations",
"parents": [],
"source": "w"
},
{
"kind": "other",
"name": "Terms with Telugu translations",
"parents": [],
"source": "w"
}
],
"examples": [
{
"text": "Near-synonym: pull punches"
},
{
"text": "For quotations using this term, see Citations:mince words."
}
],
"glosses": [
"To restrain oneself when speaking by withholding some comments or using euphemisms in order to be polite, tactful, etc."
],
"id": "en-mince_words-en-verb-SUVnEcYY",
"links": [
[
"restrain",
"restrain"
],
[
"speak",
"speak"
],
[
"withhold",
"withhold"
],
[
"comment",
"comment"
],
[
"using",
"use"
],
[
"euphemism",
"euphemism"
],
[
"in order to",
"in order to"
],
[
"polite",
"polite"
],
[
"tactful",
"tactful"
]
],
"raw_glosses": [
"(intransitive, chiefly in the negative, idiomatic) To restrain oneself when speaking by withholding some comments or using euphemisms in order to be polite, tactful, etc."
],
"raw_tags": [
"in the negative"
],
"related": [
{
"word": "minced oath"
},
{
"word": "mince matters"
},
{
"word": "word-mincer"
},
{
"word": "make no bones about"
},
{
"word": "weigh one's words"
}
],
"synonyms": [
{
"word": "mince matters"
},
{
"word": "pull punches"
}
],
"tags": [
"idiomatic",
"intransitive"
],
"translations": [
{
"code": "nl",
"lang": "Dutch",
"lang_code": "nl",
"note": "not to mince words",
"sense": "to restrain oneself when speaking by withholding some comments or using euphemisms in order to be polite, tactful, etc.",
"word": "zich geen blad voor de mond nemen"
},
{
"code": "nl",
"lang": "Dutch",
"lang_code": "nl",
"note": "not mincing words",
"sense": "to restrain oneself when speaking by withholding some comments or using euphemisms in order to be polite, tactful, etc.",
"word": "zonder omhaal van woorden"
},
{
"code": "fi",
"lang": "Finnish",
"lang_code": "fi",
"sense": "to restrain oneself when speaking by withholding some comments or using euphemisms in order to be polite, tactful, etc.",
"word": "kierrellä"
},
{
"code": "fr",
"lang": "French",
"lang_code": "fr",
"note": "not to mince words",
"sense": "to restrain oneself when speaking by withholding some comments or using euphemisms in order to be polite, tactful, etc.",
"word": "ne pas mâcher ses mots"
},
{
"code": "de",
"lang": "German",
"lang_code": "de",
"note": "not to mince words",
"sense": "to restrain oneself when speaking by withholding some comments or using euphemisms in order to be polite, tactful, etc.",
"word": "sich kein Blatt vor den Mund nehmen"
},
{
"code": "is",
"lang": "Icelandic",
"lang_code": "is",
"note": "not to mince words",
"sense": "to restrain oneself when speaking by withholding some comments or using euphemisms in order to be polite, tactful, etc.",
"word": "tala tæpitungulaust"
},
{
"code": "is",
"lang": "Icelandic",
"lang_code": "is",
"note": "not to mince words",
"sense": "to restrain oneself when speaking by withholding some comments or using euphemisms in order to be polite, tactful, etc.",
"word": "vera ómyrkur í máli"
},
{
"code": "it",
"lang": "Italian",
"lang_code": "it",
"sense": "to restrain oneself when speaking by withholding some comments or using euphemisms in order to be polite, tactful, etc.",
"word": "pesare le parole"
},
{
"code": "it",
"lang": "Italian",
"lang_code": "it",
"sense": "to restrain oneself when speaking by withholding some comments or using euphemisms in order to be polite, tactful, etc.",
"word": "usare mezzi termini"
},
{
"code": "nb",
"lang": "Norwegian Bokmål",
"lang_code": "nb",
"note": "not to mince words",
"sense": "to restrain oneself when speaking by withholding some comments or using euphemisms in order to be polite, tactful, etc.",
"word": "ikke ta bladet for munnen"
},
{
"code": "pl",
"lang": "Polish",
"lang_code": "pl",
"sense": "to restrain oneself when speaking by withholding some comments or using euphemisms in order to be polite, tactful, etc.",
"tags": [
"imperfective"
],
"word": "owijać w bawełnę"
},
{
"code": "pt",
"lang": "Portuguese",
"lang_code": "pt",
"sense": "to restrain oneself when speaking by withholding some comments or using euphemisms in order to be polite, tactful, etc.",
"word": "não ter papas na língua"
},
{
"code": "ru",
"lang": "Russian",
"lang_code": "ru",
"roman": "govorítʹ obinjakámi",
"sense": "to restrain oneself when speaking by withholding some comments or using euphemisms in order to be polite, tactful, etc.",
"word": "говори́ть обиняка́ми"
},
{
"code": "ru",
"lang": "Russian",
"lang_code": "ru",
"note": "not to mince words",
"roman": "govorítʹ bez obinjakóv",
"sense": "to restrain oneself when speaking by withholding some comments or using euphemisms in order to be polite, tactful, etc.",
"word": "говори́ть без обиняко́в"
},
{
"code": "es",
"lang": "Spanish",
"lang_code": "es",
"sense": "to restrain oneself when speaking by withholding some comments or using euphemisms in order to be polite, tactful, etc.",
"word": "no tener pelos en la lengua"
},
{
"code": "sv",
"lang": "Swedish",
"lang_code": "sv",
"sense": "to restrain oneself when speaking by withholding some comments or using euphemisms in order to be polite, tactful, etc.",
"word": "skräda orden"
},
{
"code": "te",
"lang": "Telugu",
"lang_code": "te",
"roman": "nīḷḷu namulu",
"sense": "to restrain oneself when speaking by withholding some comments or using euphemisms in order to be polite, tactful, etc.",
"word": "నీళ్ళు నములు"
}
]
}
],
"sounds": [
{
"enpr": "mĭns′ wûrdz′"
},
{
"ipa": "/ˌmɪns ˈwɜːdz/",
"tags": [
"General-Australian",
"Received-Pronunciation"
]
},
{
"audio": "En-au-mince words.ogg",
"mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/2/28/En-au-mince_words.ogg/En-au-mince_words.ogg.mp3",
"ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/28/En-au-mince_words.ogg"
},
{
"ipa": "/ˌmɪns ˈwɜɹdz/",
"tags": [
"Canada",
"General-American"
]
},
{
"audio": "LL-Q1860 (eng)-Naomi Persephone Amethyst (NaomiAmethyst)-mince words.wav",
"mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/1/1c/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Naomi_Persephone_Amethyst_%28NaomiAmethyst%29-mince_words.wav/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Naomi_Persephone_Amethyst_%28NaomiAmethyst%29-mince_words.wav.mp3",
"ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/1/1c/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Naomi_Persephone_Amethyst_%28NaomiAmethyst%29-mince_words.wav/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Naomi_Persephone_Amethyst_%28NaomiAmethyst%29-mince_words.wav.ogg"
},
{
"ipa": "/ˌməns ˈwøːdz/",
"tags": [
"New-Zealand"
]
},
{
"ipa": "/ˌmɪns ˈwʌɹdz/",
"tags": [
"Scotland"
]
},
{
"ipa": "/ˌmɪns ˈwəːʳɖz/",
"tags": [
"India"
]
}
],
"word": "mince words"
}
{
"etymology_templates": [
{
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": "ine-pro",
"3": "*mey-",
"4": "*werh₁-",
"id": "small"
},
"expansion": "",
"name": "root"
},
{
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": "mince<t:to say or utter vaguely (not directly or frankly)><pos:transitive figurative verb>",
"3": "word<alt:words>"
},
"expansion": "mince (“to say or utter vaguely (not directly or frankly)”, transitive figurative verb) + words",
"name": "com"
},
{
"args": {
"1": "mid-1500s"
},
"expansion": "First attested in the mid-1500s",
"name": "etydate"
}
],
"etymology_text": "From mince (“to say or utter vaguely (not directly or frankly)”, transitive figurative verb) + words. First attested in the mid-1500s.",
"forms": [
{
"form": "minces words",
"tags": [
"present",
"singular",
"third-person"
]
},
{
"form": "mincing words",
"tags": [
"participle",
"present"
]
},
{
"form": "minced words",
"tags": [
"participle",
"past"
]
},
{
"form": "minced words",
"tags": [
"past"
]
},
{
"form": "mince one's words",
"tags": [
"alternative"
]
},
{
"form": "mince matters",
"tags": [
"alternative"
]
}
],
"head_templates": [
{
"args": {
"1": "*"
},
"expansion": "mince words (third-person singular simple present minces words, present participle mincing words, simple past and past participle minced words)",
"name": "en-verb"
}
],
"hyphenations": [
{
"parts": [
"mince words"
]
}
],
"lang": "English",
"lang_code": "en",
"pos": "verb",
"related": [
{
"word": "minced oath"
},
{
"word": "mince matters"
},
{
"word": "word-mincer"
},
{
"word": "make no bones about"
},
{
"word": "weigh one's words"
}
],
"senses": [
{
"categories": [
"English compound terms",
"English entries with incorrect language header",
"English idioms",
"English intransitive verbs",
"English lemmas",
"English multiword terms",
"English negative polarity items",
"English terms derived from Proto-Indo-European",
"English terms derived from the Proto-Indo-European root *mey- (small)",
"English terms derived from the Proto-Indo-European root *werh₁-",
"English verbs",
"Entries with translation boxes",
"Pages with 1 entry",
"Pages with entries",
"Polish links with redundant wikilinks",
"Terms with Dutch translations",
"Terms with Finnish translations",
"Terms with French translations",
"Terms with German translations",
"Terms with Icelandic translations",
"Terms with Italian translations",
"Terms with Norwegian Bokmål translations",
"Terms with Polish translations",
"Terms with Portuguese translations",
"Terms with Russian translations",
"Terms with Spanish translations",
"Terms with Swedish translations",
"Terms with Telugu translations"
],
"examples": [
{
"text": "Near-synonym: pull punches"
},
{
"text": "For quotations using this term, see Citations:mince words."
}
],
"glosses": [
"To restrain oneself when speaking by withholding some comments or using euphemisms in order to be polite, tactful, etc."
],
"links": [
[
"restrain",
"restrain"
],
[
"speak",
"speak"
],
[
"withhold",
"withhold"
],
[
"comment",
"comment"
],
[
"using",
"use"
],
[
"euphemism",
"euphemism"
],
[
"in order to",
"in order to"
],
[
"polite",
"polite"
],
[
"tactful",
"tactful"
]
],
"raw_glosses": [
"(intransitive, chiefly in the negative, idiomatic) To restrain oneself when speaking by withholding some comments or using euphemisms in order to be polite, tactful, etc."
],
"raw_tags": [
"in the negative"
],
"synonyms": [
{
"word": "mince matters"
},
{
"word": "pull punches"
}
],
"tags": [
"idiomatic",
"intransitive"
]
}
],
"sounds": [
{
"enpr": "mĭns′ wûrdz′"
},
{
"ipa": "/ˌmɪns ˈwɜːdz/",
"tags": [
"General-Australian",
"Received-Pronunciation"
]
},
{
"audio": "En-au-mince words.ogg",
"mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/2/28/En-au-mince_words.ogg/En-au-mince_words.ogg.mp3",
"ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/28/En-au-mince_words.ogg"
},
{
"ipa": "/ˌmɪns ˈwɜɹdz/",
"tags": [
"Canada",
"General-American"
]
},
{
"audio": "LL-Q1860 (eng)-Naomi Persephone Amethyst (NaomiAmethyst)-mince words.wav",
"mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/1/1c/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Naomi_Persephone_Amethyst_%28NaomiAmethyst%29-mince_words.wav/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Naomi_Persephone_Amethyst_%28NaomiAmethyst%29-mince_words.wav.mp3",
"ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/1/1c/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Naomi_Persephone_Amethyst_%28NaomiAmethyst%29-mince_words.wav/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Naomi_Persephone_Amethyst_%28NaomiAmethyst%29-mince_words.wav.ogg"
},
{
"ipa": "/ˌməns ˈwøːdz/",
"tags": [
"New-Zealand"
]
},
{
"ipa": "/ˌmɪns ˈwʌɹdz/",
"tags": [
"Scotland"
]
},
{
"ipa": "/ˌmɪns ˈwəːʳɖz/",
"tags": [
"India"
]
}
],
"translations": [
{
"code": "nl",
"lang": "Dutch",
"lang_code": "nl",
"note": "not to mince words",
"sense": "to restrain oneself when speaking by withholding some comments or using euphemisms in order to be polite, tactful, etc.",
"word": "zich geen blad voor de mond nemen"
},
{
"code": "nl",
"lang": "Dutch",
"lang_code": "nl",
"note": "not mincing words",
"sense": "to restrain oneself when speaking by withholding some comments or using euphemisms in order to be polite, tactful, etc.",
"word": "zonder omhaal van woorden"
},
{
"code": "fi",
"lang": "Finnish",
"lang_code": "fi",
"sense": "to restrain oneself when speaking by withholding some comments or using euphemisms in order to be polite, tactful, etc.",
"word": "kierrellä"
},
{
"code": "fr",
"lang": "French",
"lang_code": "fr",
"note": "not to mince words",
"sense": "to restrain oneself when speaking by withholding some comments or using euphemisms in order to be polite, tactful, etc.",
"word": "ne pas mâcher ses mots"
},
{
"code": "de",
"lang": "German",
"lang_code": "de",
"note": "not to mince words",
"sense": "to restrain oneself when speaking by withholding some comments or using euphemisms in order to be polite, tactful, etc.",
"word": "sich kein Blatt vor den Mund nehmen"
},
{
"code": "is",
"lang": "Icelandic",
"lang_code": "is",
"note": "not to mince words",
"sense": "to restrain oneself when speaking by withholding some comments or using euphemisms in order to be polite, tactful, etc.",
"word": "tala tæpitungulaust"
},
{
"code": "is",
"lang": "Icelandic",
"lang_code": "is",
"note": "not to mince words",
"sense": "to restrain oneself when speaking by withholding some comments or using euphemisms in order to be polite, tactful, etc.",
"word": "vera ómyrkur í máli"
},
{
"code": "it",
"lang": "Italian",
"lang_code": "it",
"sense": "to restrain oneself when speaking by withholding some comments or using euphemisms in order to be polite, tactful, etc.",
"word": "pesare le parole"
},
{
"code": "it",
"lang": "Italian",
"lang_code": "it",
"sense": "to restrain oneself when speaking by withholding some comments or using euphemisms in order to be polite, tactful, etc.",
"word": "usare mezzi termini"
},
{
"code": "nb",
"lang": "Norwegian Bokmål",
"lang_code": "nb",
"note": "not to mince words",
"sense": "to restrain oneself when speaking by withholding some comments or using euphemisms in order to be polite, tactful, etc.",
"word": "ikke ta bladet for munnen"
},
{
"code": "pl",
"lang": "Polish",
"lang_code": "pl",
"sense": "to restrain oneself when speaking by withholding some comments or using euphemisms in order to be polite, tactful, etc.",
"tags": [
"imperfective"
],
"word": "owijać w bawełnę"
},
{
"code": "pt",
"lang": "Portuguese",
"lang_code": "pt",
"sense": "to restrain oneself when speaking by withholding some comments or using euphemisms in order to be polite, tactful, etc.",
"word": "não ter papas na língua"
},
{
"code": "ru",
"lang": "Russian",
"lang_code": "ru",
"roman": "govorítʹ obinjakámi",
"sense": "to restrain oneself when speaking by withholding some comments or using euphemisms in order to be polite, tactful, etc.",
"word": "говори́ть обиняка́ми"
},
{
"code": "ru",
"lang": "Russian",
"lang_code": "ru",
"note": "not to mince words",
"roman": "govorítʹ bez obinjakóv",
"sense": "to restrain oneself when speaking by withholding some comments or using euphemisms in order to be polite, tactful, etc.",
"word": "говори́ть без обиняко́в"
},
{
"code": "es",
"lang": "Spanish",
"lang_code": "es",
"sense": "to restrain oneself when speaking by withholding some comments or using euphemisms in order to be polite, tactful, etc.",
"word": "no tener pelos en la lengua"
},
{
"code": "sv",
"lang": "Swedish",
"lang_code": "sv",
"sense": "to restrain oneself when speaking by withholding some comments or using euphemisms in order to be polite, tactful, etc.",
"word": "skräda orden"
},
{
"code": "te",
"lang": "Telugu",
"lang_code": "te",
"roman": "nīḷḷu namulu",
"sense": "to restrain oneself when speaking by withholding some comments or using euphemisms in order to be polite, tactful, etc.",
"word": "నీళ్ళు నములు"
}
],
"word": "mince words"
}
Download raw JSONL data for mince words meaning in English (8.6kB)
This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable English dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2025-12-23 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2025-12-02 using wiktextract (6fdc867 and 9905b1f). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.
If you use this data in academic research, please cite Tatu Ylonen: Wiktextract: Wiktionary as Machine-Readable Structured Data, Proceedings of the 13th Conference on Language Resources and Evaluation (LREC), pp. 1317-1325, Marseille, 20-25 June 2022. Linking to the relevant page(s) under https://kaikki.org would also be greatly appreciated.