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View synonyms for officialese

officialese

[ uh-fish-uh-leez, -lees ]

noun

  1. a style of language used in some official statements, often criticized for its use of polysyllabic jargon and obscure, pretentiously wordy phrasing.


officialese

/ əˌfɪʃəˈliːz /

noun

  1. language characteristic of official documents, esp when verbose or pedantic
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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Word History and Origins

Origin of officialese1

First recorded in 1880–85; official + -ese
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Example Sentences

In his first months in office, Biden has already signaled his desire to return the Asia-Pacific — or Indo-Pacific, as has become more common in officialese — to the top of the U.S. foreign policy agenda.

There has long been a provision in immigration law designed to weed out applicants for citizenship who are likely to become dependent on the state — to become “public charges,” in officialese.

There’s even a Plain English Campaign that does its nut, year-round and vocationally, about examples of baffling officialese, pompous lawyer-speak and soul-shrivelling business jargon.

In officialese the lifts are referred to as Personenumlaufaufzüge – people circulation lifts – while a popular bureaucrats’ nickname for them is Beamtenbagger or “civil servant excavator”.

I could keep giving example after example of clunky Indian officialese, but then this piece would start sounding like the prime minister’s Independence Day speech at Red Fort.

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officialdomofficialism