Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun Language characteristic of official documents or statements, especially when obscure, pretentiously wordy, or excessively formal.

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

  • noun the formal and often obscure style of writing characteristic of some government officials; bureaucratese; -- it is characterized by euphemisms, circumlocutions, vague abstractions, and circumlocutions.

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

  • noun the style of writing characteristic of some government officials: formal and obscure

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From official +‎ -ese.

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Examples

  • Very interesting, it does sort of take your breath away reading the 'officialese', even translated to English … In fairness, Goldarrow couldn't really expect to get paid in full after the scrap prices crashed-I'm sure that just wasn't going to happen.

    Danwei - Media, Advertising, and Urban Life in China 2009

  • In Gowers's revision of Fowlers MEU, there's an article on "officialese," in which Gowers distinguishes between the sort of language to be used in drafting a statute or regulation and the language used to explain things to an inquiring citizen.

    Language Log 2009

  • Politicians and civil servants should steer clear of using "officialese" or risk being mocked by the public and media, a parliamentary committee has suggested.

    The Latest From www.politics.co.uk 2009

  • I talk to several kids, to a sociologist, and to the local human rights commissioner, a bland middle-aged man who speaks about the incident in impenetrable officialese.

    Down and Delirious in Mexico City Daniel Hernandez 2011

  • I talk to several kids, to a sociologist, and to the local human rights commissioner, a bland middle-aged man who speaks about the incident in impenetrable officialese.

    Down and Delirious in Mexico City Daniel Hernandez 2011

  • I talk to several kids, to a sociologist, and to the local human rights commissioner, a bland middle-aged man who speaks about the incident in impenetrable officialese.

    Down and Delirious in Mexico City Daniel Hernandez 2011

  • The letter, signed by the principal, bombarded us with officialese, a new language we were learning the hard way.

    Knowing Jesse Marianne Leone 2010

  • The letter, signed by the principal, bombarded us with officialese, a new language we were learning the hard way.

    Knowing Jesse Marianne Leone 2010

  • Moreover, whatever its technical status in the eyes of the GMC it was presented as a formal complaint, giving the full names of the doctors and their registered medical practitioner numbers and phrased in officialese.

    On Thursday, the Legg report will be published along with... 2009

  • Moreover, whatever its technical status in the eyes of the GMC it was presented as a formal complaint, giving the full names of the doctors and their registered medical practitioner numbers and phrased in officialese.

    A deer in the headlights 2009

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