noun
Voldemort
VOHL-duh-maw
noun
1
Informally, a person or thing so feared or reviled that people avoid naming it directly.
"The office treated the failed project like Voldemort — nobody would say its name out loud."
verb
1
To avoid saying a name directly, instead referring to someone or something with a euphemism.
"They kept Voldemorting the ex-CEO, calling him "the previous leadership.""
How to Use Voldemort
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishSomething so dreaded that people dance around naming it directly, borrowed from the Harry Potter villain everyone was afraid to name.
When to use it
Informal and pop-culture in tone; mostly used jokingly.
Word Forms
Voldemorted past tense, Voldemorts plural, Voldemorts singular
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The office treated the failed project like _____ — nobody would say its name out loud.
Etymology
From Lord Voldemort, the villain of J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter novels, whose name characters fearfully avoid saying aloud, preferring euphemisms like "He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named."