officialese

UK:*UK and possibly other pronunciationsUK and possibly other pronunciations/əˌfɪʃəˈliːz/US:USA pronunciation: respellingUSA pronunciation: respelling(ə fish′ə lēz′, -lēs′)


WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026
of•fi•cial•ese  (ə fish′ə lēz′, -lēs′),USA pronunciation n. 
  1. a style of language used in some official statements, often criticized for its use of polysyllabic jargon and obscure, pretentiously wordy phrasing.
  • official + -ese 1880–85

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
officialese / əˌfɪʃəˈliːz/
  1. language characteristic of official documents, esp when verbose or pedantic
'officialese' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):
governmentese

Forum discussions with the word(s) "officialese" in the title:


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