double entendre
noun
ˈdüb-ᵊl-äⁿ-ˈtäⁿd(rᵊ)
ˈdüb-ᵊl-äⁿ-ˈtäⁿd(rᵊ)(z)
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What is the Difference Between a double entendre and a pun?
The words double entendre and pun are both about double meanings. Double entendre, in fact, originated in an obsolete expression in French, which means “double meaning.” The origins of pun are less certain, but it likely traces to the Italian word puntiglio meaning “fine point, quibble.” In English, double entendre refers to a double meaning in which one meaning is usually shocking or risqué in its sexual suggestiveness. Pun usually has more to do with silly or humorous double meanings than with anything sexually suggestive or lewd.
Examples of double entendre in a Sentence
Karen D'souza, The Mercury News, 25 Oct. 2024
In this delightfully campy madcap comedy, Elvira heads to small-town Massachusetts to receive an inheritance from her dead aunt, only to find out that the villagers aren’t fans of her cleavage, nor of her penchant for double entendre.
—Samantha Allen, Them, 15 Oct. 2024
And yet…the rhyme schemes, the reduplication, the semantic shifts, the conversions, the deliberate grammatical oddities, and rich double entendres–Carpenter is, for some people, the greatest poet to have ever put pen to paper.
—Daniel Rodgers, Vogue, 8 Oct. 2024
The art of the exchange — be it through characters sharing double entendres or entire theaters getting caught up in call-and-response — is characteristic of film noir, midnight movies, and, yes, sing-a-longs.
—Sarah Shachat, IndieWire, 26 July 2024
See all Example Sentences for double entendre 
Dictionary Entries Near double entendre
Cite this Entry
“Double entendre.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/double%20entendre. Accessed 26 Nov. 2024.
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