A power word (or power phrase) is a word (or a phrase) that is used to make one's statement stronger. It is a form of a loaded language and is an antonym of euphemism; however, it is not always the same thing as either a dysphemism or a cacophemism, which imply the use of harsh or vulgar words. For other uses, see Word (disambiguation). ... Look up phrase in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Loaded words are words or phrases which have strong emotional overtones or connotations and which evoke strongly positive (or negative) reactions far beyond the specific meaning of the word which is listed in the dictionary. ... Look up Antonym in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Euphemism is the substitution of an agreeable or inoffensive expression for one that may offend or suggest something unpleasant to the listener; or in the case of doublespeak, to make it less troublesome for the speaker. ... In language, both dysphemism (from the Greek “dys” δυς = non and “pheme” φήμη = speech) and cacophemism (in Greek “cacos” κακός = bad) refer to the usage of an intentionally harsh word or expression instead of a polite one; they are rough opposites of euphemism. ... In language, both dysphemism (from the Greek dys δυς= non and pheme φήμη = speech) and cacophemism (in Greek caco κακό = bad) are rough opposites of euphemism, meaning the usage of an intentionally harsh word or expression instead of a polite one. ... The term vulgar originally meant of the common people, from the Latin vulgus. ...

Note: Many times power words are used in a semantically correct way, but where a synonym would be more appropriate. The choice is made precisely because of the opinion of an individual or a group. The introduction to this article provides insufficient context for those unfamiliar with the subject matter. ... Synonyms (in ancient Greek, συν (syn) = plus and όνομα (onoma) = name) are different words with similar or identical meanings. ...

Power words are used often in our lives. They are used in politics to sell ideas, in advertisements to sell products, and in religions to sell beliefs. Power words will often create an impression that any logical argument against the speaker is absurd, when that is not always the case. The use of a power word that also has a more general meaning can result in the No True Scotsman fallacy. For other uses, see Politics (disambiguation). ... Generally speaking, advertising is the paid promotion of goods, services, companies and ideas by an identified sponsor. ... Logic (from Classical Greek λόγος logos; meaning word, thought, idea, argument, account, reason, or principle) is the study of the principles and criteria of valid inference and demonstration. ... Absurd can refer to: Look up Absurd in Wiktionary, the free dictionary Absurdism is a philosophy born of Existentialism absurdity, with small a, is a form of Surreal humour Theatre of the Absurd is an artform utilizing the philosophy of Absurdism Absurd (band) is a heavy metal band This is... No true Scotsman is a term coined by Antony Flew in his 1975 book Thinking About Thinking – or do I sincerely want to be right?[1]: Imagine Hamish McDonald, a Scotsman, sitting down with his Press and Journal and seeing an article about how the Brighton Sex Maniac Strikes Again. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Fallacy. ...

Examples

Political

• Democracy. When used as a power word, the term 'Democracy' often is used to portray a subject as more formal. Some consider its use in the proper names of specific countries to be a 'power word' application. For example, when the Democratic Republic of the Congo first switched its name, it was interpreted as a 'power word' application by some, as an application of the label 'Democracy' to a country that actually bore a greater similarity to a dictatorship.
• Freedom. An example of the word freedom used as a power word would be a terrorist group calling themselves 'freedom' fighters, or conversely, an army invading another country to conquer it, and calling it "liberating" the country. For instance, the American invasion of Iraq, was dubbed 'Operation Iraqi Freedom'. Notice how either side of a war can use such words to their political advantage amongst their proponents.
• God. Often used as a power word because belief in a higher being is such a personal and/or sacred issue.
• Justice. Sometimes used as a power word, because what justice means is subject to interpretation by each person, it can be used to rationalize things that many others would find abhorrent.
• Liberation. Can be used as a power word to explain a display of force in an area of repression
• People Used as a power word to convey the thought that society in general believes something as a whole
• Anarchist Can be used as a power word when applied as a label to demean a person or group of dissenters
• Dissident. Implies that an opponent's view is uncommon and therefore false.
• Nazi or fascist is sometimes used as an adjective to describe any repressive government (or government perceived to be repressive), whether or not it is National socialist or Fascist.
• Politically incorrect. Power words used when discussing potentially offensive matters. Also provides a useful veil for coded racist or discriminatory memes ("illegals," "welfare queens" etc.).
• Racist. May be used in debates that touch on issues of race or immigration policy. May also be used in debates touching on non-racial cultural differences: e.g., criticism of Islam is sometimes called "racist," despite the fact that Muslims are not a race.
• Reactionary is sometimes used to condemn policies or ideologies viewed by the speaker as excessively narrow-minded, e.g. very conservative, socialist or liberal.
• Security is a very common way to create a feeling of insecurity in the population. Security means different things to different people: safer roads to some, reduced crime or non-nuclear energy to others. It evokes a direct association with something perceived as insecure and presents the speaker as a provider of a safer existence without ever being specific. In that sense, terrorism is a quite similar expression.
• Un-American (Anti-American) or Un-Soviet (Anti-Soviet), etc. Used in respective countries to describe an opponent to the government or any undesirables. Also Un-Islamic and Un-Christian with regards to undesirables within those faith communities.
• Unconstitutional. Beyond the normal sense of the word, it is often used to describe a proposed or actual law that the speaker disagrees with, especially in the U.S.

Forms of government Part of the Politics series Politics Portal This box:      A dictatorship is an autocratic form of government in which the government is ruled by a dictator. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... This article discusses the term God in the context of monotheism and henotheism. ... This article is about the concept of justice. ... Look up Liberation in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Anarchist redirects here. ... For the Pearl Jam song, see Dissident (song). ... Nazism in history Nazi ideology Nazism and race Outside Germany Related subjects Lists Politics Portal         Nazism or National Socialism (German: Nationalsozialismus), refers primarily to the ideology and practices of the Nazi Party (National Socialist German Workers Party, German: Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei or NSDAP) under Adolf Hitler. ... Fascism (in Italian, fascismo), capitalized, was the authoritarian political movement which ruled Italy from 1922 to 1943 under the leadership of Benito Mussolini. ... In grammar, an adjective is a word whose main syntactic role is to modify a noun or pronoun (called the adjectives subject), giving more information about what the noun or pronoun refers to. ... Political correctness is the alteration of language to redress real or alleged injustices and discrimination or to avoid offense. ... This box:      Racism has many definitions, the most common and widely accepted is that members of one race are intrinsically superior or inferior to members of other races. ... For other uses, see Race (disambiguation). ... Reactionary (or reactionist) is a political epithet, generally used as a pejorative, originally applied in the context of the French Revolution to counter-revolutionaries who wished to restore the real or imagined conditions of the monarchical Ancien Régime. ... For other uses, see Security (disambiguation). ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into constitutionality. ...

Religious and spiritual

• Christian. Can be used to describe a person in a positive light, as in "She is a true Christian" (as well as the words "Muslim", "Jew" etc. These can be used in this manner in countries in which Christianity is not the dominant religion). But can be used an a negative sense, such as "the Christian States of America" to indicate religiously-influenced, socially-conservative political leanings (In this case). In the same way, Islam and Muslim are sometimes misused to refer to fundamentalist religious radicalism, or any action against that of "Christian" nations.
• Faith. Such as U.S. Senator Bill Frist's portraying Democrats as "against people of faith" for blocking President Bush's nominees.
• Godless. Used to describe both atheists and those who support a highly secular state, or are openly hostile to organized religion or religious faith, or those possessed of a different (and perceived wrong) faith, or even of a 'wrong' sect of the same faith.
• Enemy of Islam. Used against those who want to keep Islam out of politics and support secular government.
• Myth or Legend. When one uses it to describe other religions, it is commonly contrasted with "scripture" or "belief". "Pagan mythology" while "Christian belief". Or vice versa, "Pagan belief" and "Christian mythology".
• Pagan, Cultist, Sect, infidel, blasphemer, Non-believer, heretic, Unfaithful. Describing all individuals of different religious or spiritual views.
• Moral and Immoral. Used to describe people or behaviours with which one agrees or disagrees, but lacking any consensus and subject to change.

For other uses, see Christian (disambiguation). ... For people named Islam, see Islam (name). ... There is also a collection of Hadith called Sahih Muslim A Muslim (Arabic: مسلم, Persian: Mosalman or Mosalmon Urdu: مسلمان, Turkish: Müslüman, Albanian: Mysliman, Bosnian: Musliman) is an adherent of the religion of Islam. ... For other uses, see Faith (disambiguation). ... William Harrison Bill Frist, Sr. ... For information about the band, see Atheist (band). ... This article concerns secularity, that is, being secular, in various senses. ... For other uses, see Mythology (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Legend (disambiguation). ... Pagan and heathen redirect here. ... This article does not discuss cult in its original meaning. ... This article is about religious groups. ... An infidel (literally, one without faith) is one who doubts or rejects central tenets of a religion, especially those regarding its deities. ... Blasphemy is the defamation of the name of God or the gods, and by extension any display of gross irreverence towards any person or thing deemed worthy of exalted esteem. ... For other uses, see Heresy (disambiguation). ... This article is about the use of the moral in storytelling. ... Morality is a complex of principles based on cultural, religious, and philosophical concepts and beliefs, by which an individual determines whether his or her actions are right or wrong. ...

Debate specific

Abortion Debate

• Anti-Choice, Anti-Life. Used by political opponents to refer to those opposed to and in favor of legal abortion, respectively.
• Multiple-Choice. Used primarily by staunch defenders of abortion rights to describe a political opponent whose views on abortion are either (somewhat) more conservative or were in the past more conservative.
• Partial-birth abortion. Describes a particular family of techniques for performing a late-term abortion. Though normatively accurate the medical term for this is "intact dilation and extraction". Anti-abortion activists and abortion opponents argue that the medical term is euphemism.
• Pro-Choice, Right to Choose, Women's Issues, or Women's Rights, rather than "opposed to criminalizing abortion."
• Pro-Life, or "opposed to abortion" and/or "opposed to euthanasia."
• Unborn or baby from the pro-life side, and fetus from the pro-choice side. It should be noted that though "fetus" is a power word when used in ethical and moral discussions on abortion it is appropriate when used as a medical term.

Partial-birth abortion (PBA) is a non-medical term used to refer to some late-term abortion procedures. ... Euphemism is the substitution of an agreeable or inoffensive expression for one that may offend or suggest something unpleasant to the listener; or in the case of doublespeak, to make it less troublesome for the speaker. ... Issues of discussion Pro-choice describes the political and ethical view that a woman should have complete control over her fertility and pregnancy. ... This article is about the social movement. ... The term baby can refer to: an infant a very early computer—the Small-Scale Experimental Machine, nicknamed Baby a musician – Brian Williams – who performs under the name Baby. ... For other uses, see Fetus (disambiguation). ...

War

• Occupant. Negative for soldier assigned to a foreign country, or a territory demanding independence.
• Peacekeeper. Same as above; just positive.
• Pro-War, when used to describe being in favor of a specific war.
• Terrorist. Used in place of a more neutral term such as combatant or guerrilla, when the speaker opposes the subject.
• Freedom fighter. Used as above, but when the speaker supports the subject.
• Insurgent. On the face of it a neutral word between the extremes of terrorist/militant/guerrilla and freedom fighter/minuteman. However, some claim the term insurgent is biased in favor of these aggressors as it implies rebellion against an illegitimate government.

Belligerent military occupation, occurs when one nations military garrisons occupy all or part of a foreign nation during an invasion (during or after a war). ... This article is about a military rank. ... It has been suggested that this article be split into multiple articles accessible from a disambiguation page. ... A combatant is a person who takes a direct part in the hostilities of an armed conflict who upon capture qualifies for prisoner of war under the Third Geneva Convention (GCIII). ... “Guerrilla” redirects here. ... Freedom fighter is a relativistic local term for those engaged in rebellion against an established organization that is thought to be oppressive. ...

Environmental Issues

• Cooler Heads Coalition
• Conservation, usually signifying "opposed to non-renewable energy sources"
• Earth, supportive of environmental causes
• Environmentalist wacko, Econazi and Ecoterrorist
• Global, same as Earth
• Green, usually the same as conservationism.
• tree hugger, originally in the Chipko movement

The Cooler Heads Coalition was a project of the National Consumer Coalition, itself a project of the 501(c)3 charitable nonprofit organization Consumer Alert. ... The conservation ethic is an ethic of resource use, allocation, exploitation, and protection. ... This article is about Earth as a planet. ... Bold textHello ... Eco-terrorism is defined by the Federal Bureau of Investigations Domestic Terrorism Section as the use or threatened use of violence of a criminal nature against innocent victims or property by an environmentally-oriented, subnational group for environmental-political reasons, or aimed at an audience beyond the target, often... Green politics or Green ideology is the ideology of the Green Parties, mainly informed by environmentalism, ecosophy and sustainable economics and aimed at developing a sustainable society. ... Villagers hugging the trees to stop them from felling The Chipko movement (literally to hug in Hindi) was a group of peasants in the Uttarakhand region of India who acted to prevent the felling of trees and reclaim their traditional forest rights that were threatened by the contractor system of...

Other

• Care. "We care."
• Children. Politicians and political advocates find phrases like "to help the children" or "think of the children" useful power phrases when proposing (or opposing) certain legislation or spending.
• Family. Used in a similar way to "children," often as part of the terms "pro-family" or "family values."
• Friendly. Supportive or helpful, as in "Environment-friendly" and "User-friendly"
• Love. "I love my country." Can be used almost everywhere.
• Naturally. Meaning "Who wouldn't have thought of that" as in "Naturally, Protestant critics have jumped on this bandwagon", or meaning "without a doubt" as in "The point of Brahms's work has naturally been lost by critics"
• So-Called. Commonly used to smear another person. "So-called feminists are commonly engaging in...." However, the term can also be used to indicate the use of "power words" or other phrases of questionable objective validity (i.e.: "A ban on so-called partial birth abortions....")
• Technically. Used to indicate that another way of looking at things will present that the speaker is objectively correct, even though he/she may not seem to be correct. "Technically, we only see the light bouncing off the tree, not the tree itself." Also, when a critic points out that a speaker has uttered a falsehood, the speaker can use "technically" in a rebuttal to try to make the critic appear to be a mere pedant, in order to win back the sympathies of the audience. For example, if a critic points out that the speaker has just claimed that two plus two equal five, the speaker can say "Well, technically, two plus two equals four" or "Sure, if you want to get technical about it, two plus two equal four."
• Tough. Used to vaguely describe a harsh attitude towards an undesirable element, such as "tough on crime".
• Epidemic. Used to describe anything widespread. It began as a term to describe a quickly-spreading disease. It has progressively become more vague into "anything that is widespread, regardless of nature or time period". For example, an epidemic may be used to describe people who play video games and watch TV, when in fact both have been around for decades.
• Impact. Much more forceful than saying "effect" or "affect." Its use is preferred among many because it is easier to just say "impact" rather than think about whether to use "affect" versus "effect."

For other uses, see Love (disambiguation). ... Protestantism is a general grouping of denominations within Christianity. ... Johannes Brahms Johannes Brahms (May 7, 1833 – April 3, 1897) was a German composer of the Romantic period. ... Feminists redirects here. ... Get tough on crime (or simply tough on crime) is a slogan often used by supporters of law and order political platforms. ...

See also

• Doublespeak
• Cliché
• Code word (figure of speech)