在交际中，言语模糊限制语是使陈述不那么有力或不那么自信的词或短语。这也叫对冲。与之形成对比的是，使用副词来增强其他词，或是作为断言和强化词，这会放大一个词。

如何使用言语对冲

在日常话语中，模糊限制语可以简单地说“可能”、“几乎”或“有些”。它有助于以礼貌的专业方式表达强烈的意见，例如，“我认为在某种程度上……”​ 在极端的另一端，在政治争议时期或选举季节，这种技术似乎可以在任何地方使用。

语言学家和认知科学家Steven Pinker批判性地指出，“许多作家用一团绒毛来缓冲他们的散文，这意味着他们不愿意站在他们所说的后面，包括几乎，显然，相对，公平，部分，几乎，部分，主要，大概，相反，相对，表面上，可以说，在某种程度上，某种程度上，我想说的是无处不在的……”（“风格感”，2014年）。

然而，正如伊芙琳·哈奇所指出的，模糊限制语也可能具有积极的交际功能。

"Hedges are not always the same as 'weasel words,' which temper the directness of a statement. (The two terms reflect a different point of view. 'Weasel words' is pejorative—we're trying to avoid responsibility for our claims. 'Hedges' qualify, soften, or make claims more polite.) The two examples that follow show how hedges can be used to let us 'weasel out' of responsibility for our statements. 'Perhaps Gould overstated his argument regarding an apparent weakness in Darwin's notes.' 'The data appear to support the assumption of significant differences between the two groups of students.' Hedges, however, also serve a ritual function. They may act like disfluencies in smoothing over a disagreement with a conversational partner. 'Maybe she just feels kinda blue.' In this last example, it is a simple matter to understand the locutionary force of the utterance—that is, what the sentence says. However, the illocutionary force of the utterance—what is intended by the utterance—is not clear unless context is taken into account." (​"Discourse and Language Education." Cambridge University Press, 1992)

媒体中的避讳语

美联社（Associated Press）的样式手册提醒作家小心使用避讳词“指称”，注意假设的行为没有被视为事实，但不要将其用作“例行限定词”。例如，如果警察记录中出现了某件事，它不需要仅仅因为不知道到底是谁参与了这件事就加以回避。

作者戈登·洛贝格（Gordon Loberger）和凯特·舒普（Kate Shoup）都看到了这一点。

"Writers and reporters for various media are increasingly sensitive to possible legal repercussions regarding the things they report. As a result, many of them, seemingly to protect themselves and their organizations, tend to overuse hedge words—that is, words that allow the speaker or writer to hedge on the meaning of his or her statement. As such, readers and listeners are subjected to such statements as the following: 'The alleged burglary occurred last night.' 'The diplomat died of an apparent heart attack.' Such hedge words are unnecessary if the police report indeed shows that a burglary occurred and if the medical report lists a heart attack as the cause of the diplomat's death. In any case, the second sentence above would certainly make more sense if it were written another way. (Besides, what is an 'apparent heart attack'?) 'Apparently, the diplomat died of a heart attack.' 'The diplomat died, apparently of a heart attack.'" ("Webster's New World English Grammar Handbook." Wiley, 2009)