History Main / NotUsingtheZWord

* In ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' "Treehouse of Horror XX" there is a 'muncher' outbreak started by eating infected hamburgers. Notably, the segment is mostly an extended parody of ''28 Days Later'', listed above. The Brazilian-Portuguese dub of that episode [[AvertedTrope averted the trope]] and used the term 'zumbi' (zombie).

-->'''Lily:''' Who? Those bionic zombies you told me about?

A subtrope of the SciFiGhetto. Can be used to highlight how [[OurMonstersAreDifferent their monsters are different]]. Suppose your monsters are rotting shambling undead that want to drink your blood. Call them zombies and every casual reader's going to assume they're after "braaaaaiiinnss". Calling them vampires brings up images of [[Franchise/UniversalHorror old black-&-white horror movies]], Creator/AnneRice, and [[Literature/{{Twilight}} sparkles]]. When it's used to force a sense of [[ThisIsReality "realism"]] (we don't call them "zombies" because zombies ''[[NotAZombie aren't real]]''), it smacks painfully of GenreBlindness. If ''you'' were confronted by what appears to be a member of the walking dead, how much effort would you spend coming up with an alternative name? (After all, we know that {{hobbits}} are a fictional creation of Creator/JRRTolkien, but people were quick to nickname the extinct species ''[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homo_floresiensis Homo floresiensis]]'' as "hobbits" due to their short stature and human likeness.)

* ''Franchise/TheWalkingDeadTelevisionUniverse'': The characters never once refer to the undead as "zombies." This is a justified example, because, according to Creator/RobertKirkman, the show exists in a timeline where "zombies" never became a pop-cultural phenomenon due to the lack of George A. Romero's ''Film/NightOfTheLivingDead'', so people would not generally know the term (unless they had a trivial knowledge of voodoo). Because there's no easily recognizable equivalent in their universe, each group of survivors tends to call them different things. "Walkers" is the most commonly used term (and the one typically adapted by the revolving band of survivors in Rick's group), but we also have "geeks", "roamers", "lame-brains", "biters", "rotters", and "the infected".

* ''Fi;m/TheCursed'' primarily focuses on a couple of villagers turning into vaguely-canine monsters upon contact with a cursed set of silver fangs, their bites instilling a ViralTransformation. While the crew confirms it as a [[OurWerewolvesAreDifferent werewolf]] movie, the word is never once used to describe the beasts.

* There was a {{Gamebook}} series where the reader's character was a kid sidekick to Franchise/IndianaJones. Like in the movies, there were a few where they fight Nazis, and in ''Dragon of Vengeance'' can even meet Hitler himself. They're always, without exception, called "Fascists", though.

* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zhqdu5IBBNE&t=5m20s Covered and named straight out]] in [[WebVideo/TheSpoonyExperiment The Spoony One's]] review of the movie ''Film/{{Quarantine}}'', which apparently just thinks all of its zombies are "sick" and "need help".
* In ''Film/{{REC}}'' the 'zombies' are never acknowledged as such, even though it's acknowledged the fact that it's a virus. [[spoiler:There's even the suggestion that the virus is from Hell.]]

[[folder:Films — Animation]]

[[folder:Films — Live-Action]]
* ''Film/TwentyEightDaysLater'' calls them the Infected. This has resulted in rather nerdy arguments on the Internet on whether they are actually zombies or not. However, WordOfGod claims that an infected person is intended to be a TechnicallyLivingZombie.[[note]]As explained in the introduction, the word zombie originally refers to a person in Voodoo folklore under the control (whether magically or by a strange chemical substance) of other, mainly a witch doctor. So, in the ''original'' sense of the word, a zombie is ''not'' a living dead, but a mindless living person. Interesting enough then, the infected in ''28 Days Later'' are effectively no living dead, but they are closer to the original meaning of the world zombie (i.e. a living human being altered by an external agent) than the modern concept of zombie as a walking corpse.[[/note]] The [[FollowTheLeader exact same is also true]] of the zombies (or not) in ''Film/TheCrazies'' and ''Film/{{REC}}''.

* ‘’VideoGame/EarthDefenceForce 5’’ has a strange version of this. Many of the monsters are giant versions of Earth insects and arachnids, but unlike in previous games they are never described as such. In fact the weirdly convoluted way in which new species are described makes it sound like the characters don’t recognise the animals.

* ''VideoGame/EldenRing'' refers to the corpses that rise from their graves to attack the living as Those Who Live in Death, most likely because the [=FROMSoft=]'s [[VideoGame/DarkSouls previous game franchise]] had a very specific definition for "Undead" and they wanted to avoid the players correlating the two.

* Exploited by ''Film/{{Hidden}}''. The deadly threat that the protagonists are hiding from are simply called "Breathers," and little is said that describes them, though flashbacks indicate the the existence of a ''Film/TwentyEightDaysLater'' style virus. [[spoiler:Breathers are actually human soldiers wearing noisy rebreathers, who are tasked with hunting and killing zombies, [[TomatoSurprise such as the protagonists.]]]]

* In Creator/StevenSpielberg's version of ''Film/WarOfTheWorlds'' the characters go out of their way to avoid describing the clearly alien invaders as "aliens", or even Martians although it is reasonable the characters couldn't figure they came from Mars. They are instead mistakenly referred to as "terrorists" or otherwise just "them".

* ''WesternAnimation/InspectorGadet's Biggest Caper Ever'': The "Prehistoric Giant Flying Lizard" is only ever called that or some variant. At no point does anybody think to just call it a dinosaur. For that matter, it's never called a dragon either, even though it could easily pass for one, despite not breathing fire.

* One of the ''Literature/{{Goosebumps}}'' books, [[spoiler:''Jekyll and Heidi'']], features a monster that most likely is a werewolf or at least something very similar to one, although this in not immediately obvious because the protagonist incorrectly thinks it is a different kind of monster for most of the book, but even after TheReveal of the monster's true nature makes it obvious that the monster is a werewolf, the word "werewolf" is never used in the book.

* In''Series/MidnightMass2021'' no one ever says the word vampire, even to point out to the people treating the transformation like a holy blessing what they've obviously become. Were it not for a passing reference to "legends" about people burned by the sun and the presence of ''Literature/SalemsLot'' on a bookshelf, it could be mistaken for an AlternateUniverse where vampire fiction doesn't exist. WordOfGod states that this was intentional because the viewers assumptions about the narrative would instantly be altered if the townsfolk started openly discussing vampires.

** In the Netflix tv shows, the attack on New York, as seen in ''Film/TheAvengers2012'', is a major part of the backstory. However, it is never once referred to as an "Alien Invasion", but more obliquely as "The Incident", and treated more akin to 9/11 than Pearl Harbor. WordOfGod states this was done intentionally, starting with ''Series/{{Daredevil|2015}}'', because the writers felt that overt references to an invasion by aliens would distract viewers from the plot, which occurs in a relatively grounded setting.

* Cylons in ''Series/{{Battlestar Galactica|2003}}'' are called any number of names, from "Toaster" to "Skin Job", but never ''robots'', except in "Pegasus", in which some of Pegasus's crew members call a Cylon just that. In the miniseries, Baltar says disparagingly to Number Six "You're a Cylon. A robot."
* Lampshaded in [=S3E3=] of ''Series/{{Being Human|UK}}''. "...or they were hiding a zombie." "Oh christ, are we really gonna call her that?" The [[Series/BeingHumanUS USA/Canada]] version also makes this distinction [[spoiler:in Season 3 when Sally and two of her ghostly friends are brought back to life. Sally also hates the idea that she is starting to decompose and refuses to call it that, as well]].

* In "Episode 5" of ''Series/DarkMatter'', the crew are hired to salvage a supposedly abandoned space freighter whose inhabitants have been infected with a virus that runs them into slavering, cannibalistic [[TechnicallyLivingZombie Technically Living Zombies]]. Although they're clearly zombies, the Z word is never used.

* People fighting to end slavery usually refer to it as "Human Trafficking", because most people don't take the concept of modern-day slavery seriously. Part of the reason for that is that the word slavery tends to imply that it's legally sanctioned. Human trafficking emphasizes the fact that it's done by criminals, like drug trafficking. This is the cornerstone to the issue, though there are other points. At the start of the American Civil War, slaves that fled over to the Union side were referred to in official reports and newspapers as "contraband". Because prior to the 13th Amendment, slavery was still legal under the US Constitution[[note]]and is still technically legal as a punishment for a crime[[/note]]. However, criminals resisting Federal authority (such raising an army against it!) [[BotheringByTheBook could have their "property" confiscated as "contraband".]]\\\

* ''Series/{{Heroes}}'' is to be commended for being well into its third season with no sign of planning to use the word "mutant". Or for that matter, "superhero" or "supervillain". No one has "powers"; they have "abilities". And no-one has "super strength", they have "enhanced strength", because "super strength"... well that would be just ''silly''. Of course, AscendedFanboy Hiro does refer to himself as a "superhero", and the characters have swapped "abilities" with "special powers" and "powers" occasionally. Especially Sylar. He doesn't have abilities, he has powers. And considering how he can slice the top of your head off like it's a hard-boiled egg, it's best not to argue.

* The infamous ''Series/{{Seinfeld}}'' episode "The Contest" is about the main cast having a contest over who can refrain from masturbating the longest. Not only do the characters not mention masturbation by name, they don't use any of the more common euphemisms like ADateWithRosiePalms, instead using phrases like "master of your domain".

* ''VideoGame/DigimonSurvive'' is [[MythologyGag based on the original concept for the franchise]] where [[{{mons}} Digimon]] have always existed alongside humans and were seen as {{youkai}}. They merely received the name "Digital Monsters" after [[InvisibleToNormals being acknowledged and observed by humans via modern digital devices]]. As a result, the Digimon in this game are never actually called Digimon. They're called [[GodGuise "Kemonogami" (Beast Gods)]] or just "monsters". Similarly, "[[TheChosenOne DigiDestined]]" and "Digivolution" are just called "destined" and "evolution", and [[TrappedInAnotherWorld the Digital World]] is never given a name. [[spoiler:Until the end of the game, where TheProfessor [[IconicAttributeAdoptionMoment coins the terms]].]]

* Most Heisei ''Franchise/KamenRider'' shows try as much as possible to not have the characters call themselves Kamen Riders, the only notable exceptions are Movies, specials, and seven series[[note]]''Series/KamenRiderRyuki'', ''Series/KamenRiderBlade'', ''Series/KamenRiderDecade'', ''Series/KamenRiderDouble'', ''Series/KamenRiderFourze'', ''Series/KamenRiderDrive'', ''Series/KamenRiderGhost'', ''Series/KamenRiderExAid'', ''Series/KamenRiderBuild'' and ''Series/KamenRiderZiO''[[/note]]. Ultimately, shows in the Reiwa era dropped this entirely.

* ''Series/WolfLikeMe'' primarily dances around Mary's secret by only really using the words "[[spoiler: turns into a wolf]]", which while meant to be [[OurWerewolvesAreDifferent literal]] easily gets MistakenForProfound by an old woman Mary frequently visits. It becomes a form of zigzagging when episode 5 namedrops the word in an otherwise mostly unrelated WhamLine.