incident

This page is about the doublespeak term incident

Meaning

terrorist attack, bombing, mass murder, suicide, etc.

For example

  • The police say an incident at the airport has delayed all flights, but they refuse to give details.

  • Ambulances were seen at the military base, but officials deny an incident has occurred.

Note:
Mostly used in statements by the police, state officials or news reporters in order to avoid revealing the true nature of a violent or threatening event. This is an example of how doublespeak is used to censor information and news reports.

Quick Quiz

Police said "an incident has occurred" in order to

a. avoid saying what happened

b. deny anything had happened

c. tell us exactly what happened
a) avoid saying what happened b) deny anything had happened c) tell us exactly what happened

Contributor: Matt Errey