From Richard Nordquist,
Your Guide to Grammar & Composition.
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Definition:

Substitution of an inoffensive term for one considered offensively explicit. See also:

• Euphemistically Speaking, Never Say "Die"
• Euphemisms, Dysphemisms, and Distinctio: Soggy Sweat's Whiskey Speech

Etymology:

From the Greek, "use of good words"

Examples and Observations:

• "Ground beef" or "hamburger" for ground flesh of a dead cow; "pre-owned" for used or second-hand; "undocumented worker" for illegal alien; "wind" for a belch or a fart.



• "Euphemisms are not, as many young people think, useless verbiage for that which can and should be said bluntly; they are like secret agents on a delicate mission, they must airily pass by a stinking mess with barely so much as a nod of the head. Euphemisms are unpleasant truths wearing diplomatic cologne."
  (Quentin Crisp, Manners from Heaven)



• "Wardrobe malfunction"
  (Justin Timberlake's description of his tearing of Janet Jackson's costume during a half-time performance at Super Bowl XXXVIII)



• "The 'reconstruction' of New Orleans has become a euphemism for the destruction of the city's cultural and historic heritage."
  (Ghali Hassan, 2006)



• "Is it more insulting for us to confront the truth about what's happened in Iraq, or is it more insulting for us to just engage in euphemism, and just say it's 'sacrifice,' which is the patriotically correct euphemism, when you don't want to say 'wasted'?"
  (Jacob Weisberg, editor of Slate, March 8, 2007)



• Dr. House: Why does a dog lick its workplace-acceptable euphemism for testicles?
  Dr. Wilson: Because he can.
  ("Meaning," House, M.D.)



• Dr. House: Who were you going to kill in Bolivia? My old housekeeper?
  Dr. Terzi: We don't kill anyone.
  Dr. House: I'm sorry--who were you going to marginalize? If it is my housekeeper, she has it coming. Cleaning the windows means cleaning both sides.
  ("Whatever It Takes," House, M.D.)

Pronunciation: YOO-fuh-miz-em