Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

officialese

/ə.fɪ.ʃəˈliːz/

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 0.00 in modern English

Syllables: of-fi-cialese
IPA: /ə.fɪ.ʃəˈliːz/

19

Scrabble Score

11

Letters

3

Syllables

8

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

The typical language of officials or official documents; legalistic and pompous language.

Countable; Uncountable

Example Sentences

"These were men, the chronicler continued, who ‘spoke pleasantly’, in the smooth officialese that most of Henry's counsellors were accustomed to deploy […]"
"But while using officialese might give your writing the outward appearance of being thorough and correct, that doesn't mean there's anything happening underneath. Officialese is a kind of defense mechanism. It's rooted in the fear of getting something wrong, or leaving something out, or looking stupid."

Etymology

Etymology tree English official Proto-Indo-European *-iskos Proto-Germanic *-iskaz Proto-West Germanic *-iskbor. Late Latin -iscus ▲ Vulgar Latin -iscus Latin -ēnsis Old French -eisbor. Middle English -eys English -ese English officialese From official + -ese.

Regional Pronunciation

British English: /ə.fɪ.ʃəˈliːz/

Usage

Inflected Forms

officialeses (plural)

Frequently Paired Words

legalese

Synonyms

bureaucratese

Questions

How do you pronounce officialese?: The recorded pronunciation is /ə.fɪ.ʃəˈliːz/.
What does officialese mean?: The typical language of officials or official documents; legalistic and pompous language.
Where does officialese come from?: Etymology tree English official Proto-Indo-European *-iskos Proto-Germanic *-iskaz Proto-West Germanic *-iskbor. Late Latin -iscus ▲ Vulgar Latin -iscus Latin -ēnsis Old French -eisbor. Middle English -eys English -ese English officialese From official + -ese.

How to pronounce officialese

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