In journalism, scare quotes are quotation marks used in a context other than to identify a direct quotation.

Although the term's denotation is not necessarily negative, an author who uses the term scare quotes to describe them generally does so disapprovingly. The effect is similar to inserting "so-called" to modify a word, and the resulting text should be critically scanned to see whether the scare quotes may not be omitted without loss.

In spite of their pejorative label, such quotes may be used legitimately. An author who uses quotation marks in such a manner may do so in order to disclaim responsibility for the words, or to emphasize that in the context a specialized or narrowed or historical sense is being suggested.

However, when a writer sets off a slang phrase in scare quotes, as if to legitimize the use of slang in formal writing, the result draws attention to the writer's superiority to his "low" material, an intrusion of the writer's persona that is not a desirable characteristic.