Weasel Words

Wikipedia Weasel Word: "A weasel word, or anonymous authority, is an informal term for words and phrases such as "researchers believe" and "most people think" which make arguments appear specific or meaningful, even though these terms are at best ambiguous and vague. Using weasel words may allow someone to later deny any specific meaning if the statement is challenged, because the statement was never specific in the first place. Weasel words can be a form of tergiversation, and may be used in advertising and political statements to mislead.


Weasel words can soften or under-state a biased or otherwise controversial statement. An example of this is using terms like "somewhat" or "in most respects", which make a sentence more ambiguous than it would be without them."

Invalid Logical Inference:

  • "Republicans have family values."

  • "Democrats wash their hands after going to the toilet."

  • "How can you live devoid of morality as an atheist?" -- Anderson Cooper, CNN.