elephant in the room
noun phrase
: an obvious major problem or issue that people avoid discussing or acknowledging
Examples of elephant in the room in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
If past traumas resurface, this is an excellent time for healing and, more importantly, addressing the elephant in the room.
—
Valerie Mesa, Peoplemag, 25 May 2024
The Dreyfus case itself remained the major elephant in the room.
—Maurice Samuels / Made By History, TIME, 21 May 2024
These bills do not address the elephant in the room, Ticketmaster, and problems that stem from the initial ticket sales.
—Reader Commentary, Baltimore Sun, 24 Feb. 2024
Ellen DeGeneres will soon address the elephant in the room.
—Wesley Stenzel, EW.com, 13 May 2024
Love Is Blind's Trevor Sova is breaking his social media hiatus and addressing the major elephant in the room.
—Esther Kang, Peoplemag, 18 Apr. 2024
The elephant in the room, however, is that the LZ0’s oil pump belt sits at the back of the engine and requires replacement every 200,000 miles—which in turn requires either an engine or transmission-out service that can cost upward of $3,000.
—Michael Van Runkle, Forbes, 27 Feb. 2024
The elephant in the room, for viewers if not the characters, is that at 47, Andrew Scott is too old for the fledgling sociopath that Tom Ripley is supposed to be in the first of Highsmith’s novels in the series.
—Daniel Fienberg, The Hollywood Reporter, 4 Apr. 2024
John Oates carefully sidestepped the elephant in the room on Wednesday during his keynote conversation at SXSW, even as the veteran hitmaker offered anecdotes and pearls of wisdom from his more than 50 years in the music business.
—Cynthia Littleton, Variety, 14 Mar. 2024
Valerie Mesa, Peoplemag, 25 May 2024
The Dreyfus case itself remained the major elephant in the room.
—Maurice Samuels / Made By History, TIME, 21 May 2024
These bills do not address the elephant in the room, Ticketmaster, and problems that stem from the initial ticket sales.
—Reader Commentary, Baltimore Sun, 24 Feb. 2024
Ellen DeGeneres will soon address the elephant in the room.
—Wesley Stenzel, EW.com, 13 May 2024
Love Is Blind's Trevor Sova is breaking his social media hiatus and addressing the major elephant in the room.
—Esther Kang, Peoplemag, 18 Apr. 2024
The elephant in the room, however, is that the LZ0’s oil pump belt sits at the back of the engine and requires replacement every 200,000 miles—which in turn requires either an engine or transmission-out service that can cost upward of $3,000.
—Michael Van Runkle, Forbes, 27 Feb. 2024
The elephant in the room, for viewers if not the characters, is that at 47, Andrew Scott is too old for the fledgling sociopath that Tom Ripley is supposed to be in the first of Highsmith’s novels in the series.
—Daniel Fienberg, The Hollywood Reporter, 4 Apr. 2024
John Oates carefully sidestepped the elephant in the room on Wednesday during his keynote conversation at SXSW, even as the veteran hitmaker offered anecdotes and pearls of wisdom from his more than 50 years in the music business.
—Cynthia Littleton, Variety, 14 Mar. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'elephant in the room.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Elephant in the room.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/elephant%20in%20the%20room. Accessed 1 Jun. 2024.
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