legalese

[lee-guh-leez, -lees]

noun

1. language containing an excessive amount of legal terminology or of legal jargon.

legalese

/ ˌliːɡəˈliːz /

noun

1. the conventional language in which legal documents, etc, are written

Word History and Origins

Origin of legalese¹

First recorded in 1910–15; legal + -ese

Example Sentences

The arguments involved a lot of legalese about "burden" versus "coercion," or what constitutes a "sincerely held" religious belief.

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By design, the details of how "freedom cities" would be established are laden with legalese like "federal enclaves with special economic and jurisdictional zones" or "interstate compacts."

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She now wants to do Pilates after work, and the long hours she spends working and learning legalese have kept her mental faculties in check.

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That’s when Williams, convicted earlier this year, sent Edwards the first images that count as “indecent”, the archaic legalese for depictions of abuse.

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It's dressing up the idea in legalese, giving white supremacy a law degree and saying, "This isn't actually me being bigoted, this is what the Constitution requires."

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