The substitution of a harsh, offensive, or disparaging expression for a mild or neutral one. The opposite of euphemism, used to make something sound worse than it is.
From Greek 'dys-' (bad, ill) + 'pheme' (speech), literally meaning 'bad speech.' Coined in the late 19th century as the linguistic opposite of euphemism, following the same Greek root pattern.
If euphemism is putting lipstick on a pig, dysphemism is putting mud on a swan. While euphemisms make things sound prettier ('passed away' for 'died'), dysphemisms make things sound uglier ('croaked' for 'died').
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