Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • transitive verb To cause to seem more appealing or pleasant.
  • transitive verb To coat with sugar.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • verb transitive To make superficially more attractive; to give a falsely pleasant appearance to.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • verb coat with something sweet, such as a hard sugar glaze
  • verb cause to appear more pleasant or appealing

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

sugar +‎ coat; from the practice of coating medicinal tablets or pills with sugar in order to disguise their unpleasant taste

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Examples

  • Yes, yes, family isn't a great place to seek out feedback, but he's well-read and at his word to not "sugarcoat" his critique.

    Here Comes The Crunch 2009

  • Yes, yes, family isn't a great place to seek out feedback, but he's well-read and at his word to not "sugarcoat" his critique.

    Archive 2009-04-01 2009

  • The memo about pressure from Staudt to "sugarcoat" Bush's evaluations is dated Aug. 18, 1973.

    Slime Time Live 2008

  • Unwilling to "sugarcoat" bitter disappointment, he was also mindful that there is more to his team than meets the eye, the ear or the stat sheet.

    Fore, right! 2010

  • Unwilling to "sugarcoat" bitter disappointment, he was also mindful that there is more to his team than meets the eye, the ear or the stat sheet.

    Fore, right! 2010

  • GigaOm rebuked Sprint for attempting to "sugarcoat" the news by saying the company's commitment to quality would not change with the job cuts.

    Kansas City Star: Front Page 2009

  • Marziano said he didn't want to "sugarcoat" the multimillion-dollar expense.

    unknown title 2009

  • Harvey said while normal history classes touches on racism, this program doesn't "sugarcoat" anything.

    unknown title 2009

  • Papelbon isn't backing down from his initial comments, telling the Boston Globe that he's not there to "sugarcoat" anything.

    Deadspin 2009

  • Democratic Sen. LeRoy Stumpf of Plummer told his colleagues there was no way to "sugarcoat" the cuts, which amount to about $270 per pupil for the next two years.

    kstp.com - MORE NEWS 2009

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