This is a word for your lexicon, especially if you are a writer. A weasel word is a term such as “some people say” which leads the casual reader to believe that what follows is widely-accepted. In reality, it may be that only one person (the person writing the comment) says such a thing. Technically, the comment is correct, but the truth is that there is no data to support the idea that lots of people believe it.
The use of weasel words is based upon the premise that most people reading an advertisement will not read it carefully. If they do, they will discover the weakness in the claim. But if they are casual in their reading, they may rush out to the store to take advantage of the great 70% sale. Once there, the chances are that they may make a purchase in spite of the fact that they don’t get the massive reduction.
Weasel words are not restricted to advertising, however. They can appear in reports of an incident in a news release or in a journal article. How many times have we heard that a “larger than expected” crowd appeared at a political rally. Does that mean hundreds of people, or is it more likely that it means that instead of 20 people, there were 25?
Weasel words can be used intentionally to mask the truth. They are not lies, in the usual sense. However, there is a lack of veracity in the comment. Clever writers will employ them to deceive the reader or to avoid an uncomfortable truth.
I found the very creative web site, Ghost Creatives NYC, to have really good information about the term. They caution writers about using weasel words unintentionally.
Weasel words are evasive, biased, or misleading words or statements. In nonfiction writing, weasel words can damage the authority or neutrality of claims or statements. Weasel words are a sneaky method of substituting hearsay, vague claims, or opinion, for facts or statistical proof. When writing declarative statements, don’t equivocate; back up your claims and use–whenever possible–an active, not passive, voice.
I’ve never thought about these words, at least not by name. But it occurs to me that even in the writing of fiction it is possible to deceive the reader by using words or phrases that mislead them. It sets them up for something that may turn out to be inaccurate.
More than a few people in the community saw Rhonda as a person to be avoided.
The reader must ask the question, “How many? A handful; a dozen; hundreds? ” The impression left is that it is a significant number. The vagueness of the comment may promote Rhonda to a place of prominence in the list of potential perpetrators, throwing the readers off course as they try to determine the culprit.
