dysphemism
\DIS-fuh-miz-uhm\
noun
1. the substitution of a harsh, disparaging, or unpleasant expression for a more neutral one.
2. an expression so substituted.
Quotes
They were given considerable latitude in determining who should become a target of their "collection efforts." (The term "spying" was considered a dysphemism, though many believed it to be a more honest description of domestic intelligence work.)
-- David Lindsey, An Absence of Light, 1994
Origin
Dysphemism is derived from the Greek dys- meaning “ill, bad” and phḗmē meaning “speaking.” It entered English in the late 1800s.
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