jargon

1 of 2

noun

jar·​gon ˈjär-gən How to pronounce jargon (audio)
-ˌgän
1
: the technical terminology or characteristic idiom of a special activity or group
sports jargon
2
: obscure and often pretentious language marked by circumlocutions and long words
an academic essay filled with jargon
3
a
: confused unintelligible language
b
: a strange, outlandish, or barbarous language or dialect
c
: a hybrid language or dialect simplified in vocabulary and grammar and used for communication between peoples of different speech
jargony
ˈjär-gə-nē How to pronounce jargon (audio)
-ˌgä-nē
adjective

jargon

2 of 2

verb

jargoned; jargoning; jargons

Example Sentences

Noun medical jargon that the layman cannot understand an academic essay filled with jargon Verb the birds who began jargoning to greet the dawn
Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
For example, a doctor could ask ChatGPT to simplify complicated medical jargon so that someone with a seventh-grade education could understand. Jen Christensen, CNN, 22 Feb. 2023 Swap jargon for plain language to increase the odds your message is received and understood. Amy Blaschka, Forbes, 28 Jan. 2023 Embedding jargon in websites can be a precursor to action or its result. Kenin M. Spivak, National Review, 18 Dec. 2022 Coming to you weekly and minus any intense academic jargon? Brooke Knisley, Vulture, 28 Oct. 2022 By the time a salesperson has finished showing fancy graphs and charts about how much a homeowner will save in energy costs, and thrown about some jargon about reducing the carbon footprint, most people cannot sign the paperwork fast enough. Dallas News, 2 Oct. 2022 In the jargon of quantum theory, the friend’s result is a hidden variable. George Musser, Science | AAAS, 17 Aug. 2020 That requires deputy coroners translating the medical jargon to use some plain, blunt language about a death. John Tuohy, The Indianapolis Star, 27 Dec. 2022 Thursday morning by Downing Street staffers to clarify that the vote was enforced with a three-line whip, Westminster jargon meaning anyone who broke ranks and voted against the government would be disciplined. Patrick Smith, NBC News, 20 Oct. 2022
Verb
That’s like the same thing that happened in 2008 when everybody was bedazzled by all these Wall Street jargon terms like collateralized debt obligations. Recode Staff, Recode, 13 June 2018 That’s like the same thing that happened in 2008 when everybody was bedazzled by all these Wall Street jargon terms like collateralized debt obligations. Recode Staff, Recode, 13 June 2018 See More

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'jargon.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Word History

Etymology

Noun and Verb

Middle English, from Anglo-French jargun, gargon

First Known Use

Noun

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 3a

Verb

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Time Traveler
The first known use of jargon was in the 14th century

Dictionary Entries Near jargon

Cite this Entry

“Jargon.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/jargon. Accessed 26 Mar. 2023.

Kids Definition

jargon

noun
jar·​gon
ˈjär-gən,
-ˌgän
1
: a mixed language used for communication between peoples whose native languages are different
2
: the special language of a particular activity or group
legal jargon
3
: language that is not clear and is full of long important-sounding words

Medical Definition

jargon

noun
1
: the technical terminology or characteristic idiom of a special activity, group, profession, or field of study
medical jargon
2
: unintelligible, meaningless, or incoherent speech (as that associated with Wernicke's aphasia or some forms of schizophrenia)

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