What does officialese mean?

Definitions for officialese
əˌfɪʃ əˈliz, -ˈlisof·fi·cialese

This dictionary definitions page includes all the possible meanings, example usage and translations of the word officialese.

Princeton's WordNet

  1. officialesenoun

    the style of writing characteristic of some government officials: formal and obscure

GCIDE

  1. officialesenoun

    the formal and often obscure style of writing characteristic of some government officials; bureaucratese; -- it is characterized by euphemisms, circumlocutions, vague abstractions, and circumlocutions.

Wiktionary

  1. officialesenoun

    The typical language of official documents, legalistic and pompous.

Wikipedia

  1. Officialese

    Officialese, bureaucratese, or governmentese is language that sounds official. It is the "language of officialdom". Officialese is characterized by a preference for wordy, long sentences; a preference for complex words, code words or buzzwords over simple, traditional ones; a preference for vagueness over directness and a preference for passive over active voice (some of those elements may, however, vary between different times and languages). The history of officialese can be traced to the history of officialdom, as far back as the eldest human civilizations and their surviving official writings.Officialese is meant to impress the listener (or reader) and increase the authority (more than the social status) of the user, making them appear more professional. Ernest Gowers noted that officialese also allows the user to remain vague. It can be used to make oneself understood to insiders while being hard to decipher by those unfamiliar with the jargon and subtexts used. Its use is known to put off members of the general public and reduce their interest in the material presented. Officialese has been criticized as making one's speech or prose "stilted, convoluted, and sometimes even indecipherable" and simply as the "cancer of language". It is thus more pejoratively classified as one of the types of gobbledygook. Its use can also result in unintended humorous incidents, and has been often satirized.Several similar concepts to officialese exist, including genteelism, commercialese, academese, and journalese. The existence of officialese has been recognized by a number of organizations, which have made attempts to curtail its use in favour of plain language.

ChatGPT

  1. officialese

    Officialese is a style of language characterized by the complex, formal and often verbose or jargon-laden language commonly used in official documents, reports, or statements. It is typically seen in bureaucratic or business settings and can be difficult for the average person to understand due to its technical nature.

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Numerology

  1. Chaldean Numerology

    The numerical value of officialese in Chaldean Numerology is: 9

  2. Pythagorean Numerology

    The numerical value of officialese in Pythagorean Numerology is: 9

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"officialese." Definitions.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 28 Mar. 2024. <https://www.definitions.net/definition/officialese>.

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