scare quotes

A form of scare quote — A quotation mark deliberately used to provoke a reaction or to indicate that the author does not approve of a term or clause, rather than to identify a direct quotation.

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Meanings

noun
  1. pluralplural of scare quote
Cite this entry
APA

scare quotes. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/scare%20quotes

MLA

“scare quotes.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/scare%20quotes. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “scare quotes,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/scare%20quotes.

Source: scare quotes on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.