Definitions

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun The abbreviated writing style of headline writers.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun The jargon used in headlines of newspapers, often with unconventional grammar.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun using the abbreviated style of headline writers

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

headline +‎ -ese

Support

Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word headlinese.

Examples

  • The English tout is hot, not just in headlinese but also in the body of articles.

    The Right Word in the Right Place at the Right Time William Safire 2004

  • Though it is terse and punchy, its judgmental appearance in a headline is to be to use the favorite verbs in headlinese assailed and decried.

    The Right Word in the Right Place at the Right Time William Safire 2004

  • The English tout is hot, not just in headlinese but also in the body of articles.

    The Right Word in the Right Place at the Right Time William Safire 2004

  • Though it is terse and punchy, its judgmental appearance in a headline is to be to use the favorite verbs in headlinese assailed and decried.

    The Right Word in the Right Place at the Right Time William Safire 2004

  • The Columbia Journalism Review even published two anthologies of ambiguous headlinese in the 1980s, with the classic titles "Squad Helps Dog Bite Victim" and

    NYT > Home Page By BEN ZIMMER 2010

  • As long as there is such a thing as headlinese, we can count on crash blossoms continuing to blossom.

    NYT > Home Page By BEN ZIMMER 2010

  • The simplifications of headlinese eliminate all sorts of clues to structure and meaning, forcing the reader to fall back on context, background knowledge, plausibility, and the like.

    Language Log Arnold Zwicky 2009

  • More modest use of headlinese can convey a more conversational and engaged tone and the like.

    Language Log Arnold Zwicky 2009

  • In particular, if the conventions of headlinese allow you to omit certain material, you must.

    Language Log Arnold Zwicky 2009

Comments

Log in or sign up to get involved in the conversation. It's quick and easy.

  • Heard on an interview by Bob Edwards of Roy Blount touting his new book:Alphabet Juice. The change in the English language occasioned by restricted space for headlines. The decline of newpapers will decrease this generator of new English...so Roy thinks.

    December 15, 2008