schönreden — meaning in English
German → English · translate English → German instead
English meaning
- embellish verb To decorate something to make it more attractive.
- gloss noun A shiny, polished surface.
- rationalize verb To make something rational, logical, or more efficient — often by removing unnecessary parts.
- spin verb To turn around quickly on an axis.
- sugarcoat verb To make something unpleasant seem more acceptable or attractive than it really is.
- whitewash noun A cheap white paint made from lime or chalk mixed with water, used to coat walls and fences.
Senses
schönreden is used for these senses in English:
- embellish To make something sound or look better or more acceptable than it is in reality; to distort, embroider, or even misrepresent or lie.
- euphemize (transitive) To describe in euphemistic terms.
- gloss (transitive) To make (something) attractive by deception
- rationalize To justify a discreditable act, or irrational behaviour.
- spin (figurative) To present, describe, or interpret, or to introduce a bias or slant, so as to give something a favorable or advantageous appearance.
- whitewash (often, politics) To hide (someone's) mistakes, or to create an appearance of honesty, propriety, etc., for (someone); also, to intentionally hide or overlook (mistakes, unfavourable facts, wrongdoing, etc.).
embellish — full definition
- verb To decorate something to make it more attractive.
- verb To make a story sound more interesting or impressive than it really is, often by exaggerating or adding invented details.
gloss — full definition
- noun A shiny, polished surface.
- noun An impressive appearance that hides something less impressive underneath.
- verb (usually "gloss over") To skim past or downplay a problem instead of properly addressing it.
- noun A brief note explaining a difficult or foreign word, often placed in the margin or between the lines of a text.