verbrämen

German

Etymology

15th century, from ver- +‎ brämen (now obsolete), from Middle High German bremen (“to provide with a trimming”), derived from *brem (“trimming, edging”, attested 15th c., see Bräme). The noun is cognate with English brim. The ä-spelling reflects the Middle High German open ë-vowel.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /feʁˈbʁɛːmən/, [fɐˈbʁɛː.mən], [fɛɐ̯-], [-ˈbʁeː-], [-mn̩], [-mm̩]
Audio (file)
Audio (file)
Hyphenation: ver‧brä‧men

Verb

verbrämen (weak, third-person singular present verbrämt, past tense verbrämte, past participle verbrämt, auxiliary haben)

to embellish (a piece of clothing), especially with a trimming, edging, brim
(figurative) to mask, veil, cloud, sugarcoat (euphemize something negative, especially by making it vague)
Synonyms: verschleiern, verhüllen, bemänteln, beschönigen, kaschieren, verharmlosen
- 2021 December 22, Anna Klöpper, “Neue Gesetzesentwürfe für Berlin: Politik mit schönen Worten”, in Die Tageszeitung: taz‎, →ISSN:
  Der Zusammenhang zwischen der Verschlumpsung Berlins, die durch den so feinen Begriff des Laissez-faire verbrämt wird, und der gefühlten Kriminalität wie in den Favelas von São Paulo ist also offensichtlich.
  (please add an English translation of this quotation)
(rare, by extension) to misname, to describe with inappropriate terms (be they positive or negative)
- 2018 October 19, Kai Gehring (Bündnis 90/Die Grünen), “Menschrecht auf Religionsfreiheit”, in parliamentary debates (Deutscher Bundestag)‎, Berlin, page 6624, column C:
  Christliches, zivilisiertes Verhalten verbrämen Sie als „Gutmenschentum“.
  (please add an English translation of this quotation)

Conjugation

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