legalese
Americannoun
noun
Etymology
Origin of legalese
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Those rules have to be drafted in a formal, one-size-fits-all fashion, resulting in pages and pages of legalese.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 16, 2026
When the footage emerged, the network decided to cancel her season, showcasing how ugly the altercation was behind all the legalese.
From Salon ● Apr. 29, 2026
“New language framed as compromise was paired with legalese that would allow those safeguards to be disregarded at will.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 26, 2026
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.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 22, 2024
That’s why guidelines on how to avoid legalese and other turbid professional styles call for using first- and second-person pronouns, inverting passives into actives, and letting verbs be verbs rather than zombie nouns.
From "The Sense of Style" by Steven Pinker
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
