hedging
7 synonyms for hedging, grouped by meaning and by how common each one is.
Noun — The practice of making an additional investment or trade designed to offset losses on another position, so that a fall in one is cushioned by a gain in the other.
Synonyms
Everyday swaps
Common words most readers know — safe in any writing.
Less common
Still standard English, but they carry more weight.
Rare, literary or technical
Precise, but they will stand out — check the sense before using one.
Synonyms by Meaning
1. noun finance
The practice of making an additional investment or trade designed to offset losses on another position, so that a fall in one is cushioned by a gain in the other.
“The airline uses hedging to protect itself against a spike in fuel prices.”
2. noun linguistics
The use of cautious language that softens a claim and avoids full commitment, such as may, tends to or arguably.
“Academic writing relies on hedging: results suggest rather than results prove.”
How to use hedging
The word patterns that sound natural to a native speaker.
The finance sense dominates in news; the language sense appears in academic guidance.
Etymology
From hedge, Old English hecg 'a boundary of bushes'; the financial and evasive senses come from the idea of putting a protective fence around oneself.
Full origin of hedging →