jargon

noun jar·gon \ ˈjär-gən , -ˌgän \

|Updated on: 14 Jun 2018

Examples: jargon in a Sentence

Definition of jargon

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

play \ˈjär-gə-nē, -ˌgä-nē\ adjective

See jargon defined for English-language learners

See jargon defined for kids

Examples of jargon in a Sentence

medical jargon that the layman cannot understand
an academic essay filled with jargon

Recent Examples of jargon from the Web

In that, with her scandal behind her, Kimmy attends a tech conference laden with bros and groanworthy jargon.

— megan angelo, Glamour, "Kimmy Schmidt Is TV's Most Unlikely #MeToo Villain," 7 June 2018
The wine industry, though, can often alienate itself with technical terms and jargon.

— nina sparling, Vogue, "Parcelle, a New Shop From the Team Behind Charlie Bird, Takes the Stress Out of Wine-Buying," 31 May 2018
An eruption of volcano news soon followed, bringing with it an array of near-indecipherable geologic jargon.

— maya wei-haas, Smithsonian, "A Brief Glossary of Volcano Vocab," 25 May 2018
All of this is told in exhilarating prose that moves this narrative briskly along without getting mired in the tall weeds of technical jargon.

— scott stantis, chicagotribune.com, "'Chasing New Horizons' spins fascinating chronicle of Pluto mission," 11 May 2018
With pages that are free of jargon and footnotes, there are few reminders to the reader that historical sources lurk behind the narrative.

— mark g. spencer, WSJ, "‘Lexington and Concord’ Review: The First Round of a Long Fight," 18 Apr. 2018
Like all sports, thoroughbred racing has its fair share of jargon.

— jason frakes, The Courier-Journal, "Horse racing terms to keep you in the know for Kentucky Oaks and Kentucky Derby 2018," 3 Apr. 2018
Four years of education and weekly argumentative essays taught me the academic jargon.

— ron lieber, New York Times, "5 High Schoolers and Their College Application Essays About Work, Money and Social Class," 11 May 2018
But where the conventional CEO might dance around bad news, or hide it in a wooly nest of jargon and non-answers, Musk attacked.

— alex davies, WIRED, "Elon Musk's Attack on Tesla Investors Could Make Him a Liability," 3 May 2018

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.

Origin and Etymology of jargon

Middle English, from Anglo-French jargun, gargon

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 14th century

in the meaning defined at sense 3a

See Words from the same year

jargon Synonyms

Synonyms

argot, cant, dialect, jive, language, lingo, patois, patter, shop, shoptalk, slang, terminology, vocabulary;

journalese;

Other Language Terms

cognate, collocation, homonym

jargon

verb

Definition of jargon

jargoned; jargoning; jargons

intransitive verb

1 : jargonize

2 : twitter, warble

Examples of jargon in a Sentence

the birds who began jargoning to greet the dawn

Origin and Etymology of jargon

see ¹jargon

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 14th century

in the meaning defined at sense 2

See Words from the same year

Other Language Terms

cognate, collocation, homonym

JARGON Defined for English Language Learners

jargon

noun

Definition of jargon for English Language Learners

: the language used for a particular activity or by a particular group of people

JARGON Defined for Kids

jargon

noun jar·gon \ ˈjär-gən , -ˌgän \

Definition of jargon for Students

1 : the special vocabulary of an activity or group

sports jargon

2 : language that is not clear and is full of long words

Medical Dictionary

jargon

noun jar·gon \ ˈjär-gən, -ˌgän \

medical Definition of jargon

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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See words that rhyme with jargon Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for jargon Spanish Central: Translation of jargon Nglish: Translation of jargon for Spanish speakers

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jargon

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jargony

Examples of jargon in a Sentence

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Origin and Etymology of jargon

jargon Synonyms

Synonyms

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Other Language Terms

jargon

Definition of jargon

Examples of jargon in a Sentence

Origin and Etymology of jargon

Other Language Terms

JARGON Defined for English Language Learners

jargon

Definition of jargon for English Language Learners

JARGON Defined for Kids

jargon

Definition of jargon for Students

Medical Dictionary

jargon

medical Definition of jargon

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