Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun A style of language characterized by the use of abstract nouns, jargon, and euphemism considered typical of bureaucrats.
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; officialese; -- it is characterized by euphemisms, circumlocutions, vague abstractions, and circumlocutions.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun A style of
language , typically used bybureaucrats , that usesjargon oreuphemism to the detriment of broader understanding. - noun Any language containing many non-essential words intended to imply more importance or intelligence than is actually present.
Etymologies
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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The bureaucratese is a bit more poignant than it might at first seem. 910 means the house was searched on 9/10.
A Little Faith Can Heal A Heart That’s Been Betrayed | ATTACKERMAN 2008
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In typical bureaucratese, the interim director, Deborah Carroll ,explained, During hypothermia season, any participant who meets the definition of homeless should get shelter.
Art Levine: GOP-Style Democrats Slash DC Budget: Homeless Moms Already Given Bus Tokens, Not Shelter Art Levine 2011
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This week's announcement – a list of procedures with no attempt to address the fundamental moral, legal and philosophical dilemma that underlies Guantánamo as much now as on the day it opened – is merely bureaucratese for the fact that Guantánamo, and all that it represents, is here to stay.
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In typical bureaucratese, the interim director, Deborah Carroll ,explained, During hypothermia season, any participant who meets the definition of homeless should get shelter.
Art Levine: GOP-Style Democrats Slash DC Budget: Homeless Moms Already Given Bus Tokens, Not Shelter Art Levine 2011
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Its grand strategy remains incomprehensible even to its friends; its military policy is mired in bureaucratese.
The Chasm Between India and the U.S. Harsh V. Pant 2011
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Translated from bureaucratese, that means what Finnish Finance Minister Jyrki Katainen calls an austerity program "stricter, harder and more comprehensive than the one the Portuguese parliament voted against."
Portugal Gets a Little Friendly Advice Irwin Stelzer 2011
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William Safire used it in 1983, in fact, saying it was "bureaucratese for an office without work to do."
Justin Snider: Rubber Rooms: Gone From New York City, But Alive Elsewhere? 2010
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I also covered the White House for various media in the 1970s and 1980s, and learned first-hand from her about accuracy, fairness, balance, and how to wade through the morass of government bluster and bureaucratese.
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But it was also clear, listening to his earnest, jargon-filled bureaucratese, just how overwhelmed and unprepared the government (not to mention BP) was to handle disasters of the kind that we should have known would eventually, inevitably result from drilling wells a mile below the surface of the ocean and tens of miles offshore.
Obama’s ‘Top Kill’ 2010
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I also covered the White House for various media in the 1970s and 1980s, and learned first-hand from her about accuracy, fairness, balance, and how to wade through the morass of government bluster and bureaucratese.
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