legalese

[ lee-guh-leez, -lees ]

noun

1. language containing an excessive amount of legal terminology or of legal jargon.

legalese

/ ˌliːɡəˈliːz /

noun

1. the conventional language in which legal documents, etc, are written

Word History and Origins

Origin of legalese¹

First recorded in 1910–15; legal + -ese

Example Sentences

We’ve already seen doctors hesitant to treat patients because the legalese is so vague in states where bans have been passed, even with exceptions.

From FiveThirtyEight

TurboTax’s current terms-of-use agreement, which still contains an arbitration clause, runs to over 15,000 words of dense legalese.

From ProPublica

I realize this statement is written in the anodyne legalese that judges must employ, but I’m convinced that Judge Gallagher is letting his true feelings shine here.

From Outside Online

Most of the time the policy conversation gets wrapped up in legalese around free speech and whose speech matters, but we need to shift and understand the true costs of misinformation.

From MIT Technology Review

The worst offenders as far as we are concerned are legalese and planning documents.

From The Daily Beast

To his eyes, Washington was dominated by lawyers, all speaking incomprehensible legalese—or, as Keynes put it, “Cherokee”.

From The Daily Beast

“Scrutiny” is legalese—but important legalese, because it describes how closely a court should review a law.

From The Daily Beast

Legalese is justified by the attempt to avoid ambiguity in a given situation.

From Project Gutenberg