A euphemism is a generally innocuous word or expression used in place of one that may be found offensive or suggest something unpleasant. Some euphemisms are intended to amuse, while others use bland, inoffensive, and often misleading terms for things the user wishes to dissimulate or downplay. Euphemisms are used for dissimulation, to refer to taboo topics (such as disability, sex, excretion, and death) in a polite way, and to mask profanity. The opposite of euphemism roughly equates to dysphemism. Euphemisms may be used to avoid words considered rude, while conveying their meaning: "Kiss my you-know-what!" instead of the more vulgar, "Kiss my ass/arse"; the expletive sugar to substitute shit. Some euphemisms are so commonly used as to be standard usage: "pass away" for "die". Over the centuries euphemisms have been introduced for "latrine", and themselves replaced as they came to be considered unacceptable; "toilet", once itself a euphemism, is often euphemised as "bathroom", "restroom", etc. Euphemisms are used to downplay and conceal unpalatable facts, as "collateral damage" for "civilian casualties" in a military context, and "redacted" for "censored".
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