legalese

noun

le·​gal·​ese ˌlē-gə-ˈlēz How to pronounce legalese (audio) -ˈlēs How to pronounce legalese (audio)
: the specialized language of the legal profession
replaced legalese with plain talkSteve Weinberg

Examples of legalese in a Sentence

I was confused by the legalese in the contract.
Recent Examples on the Web When Boeing faced similarly protracted regulatory reviews before, some of Calhoun’s predecessors of were ill-advised to hide behind exceedingly vague, impersonal legalese in deference to regulators and investigators–which did not end well. Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, Fortune, 29 Jan. 2024 The court fight was initially shrouded by corporate legalese and filings unavailable the public’s view. Jonathan Mattise, The Christian Science Monitor, 8 Dec. 2023 In dry legalese, the court documents recount the Russian state’s case against these statements and protests. Anton Troianovski, New York Times, 29 Dec. 2023 Instead of legalese, the portal should approach people at the level that they are accustomed to being addressed. Michael Stebbins and Eric D. Perakslis, STAT, 15 Dec. 2023 Financial text is vastly different from text typically found on the Internet, characterized by financial jargon and legalese, interspersed with numbers, and possessing a distinct linguistic style. Noah Barsky, Forbes, 11 Dec. 2023 Even for users who want to opt out of ravenous data collection, privacy policies remain complicated and vague, and many users don’t have the time or knowledge of legalese to parse through them. WIRED, 1 Nov. 2023 Share certificate: This is banking legalese that indicates the certificate is offered by a credit union (which is a nonprofit institution, as opposed to a for-profit bank) and insured by the Credit Union National Association rather than the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. Martha C. White, wsj.com, 2 Oct. 2023 Parents do receive letters explaining their rights, but the legalese can be confusing. Elizabeth Koh, BostonGlobe.com, 9 Sep. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'legalese.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1911, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of legalese was in 1911

Dictionary Entries Near legalese

Cite this Entry

“Legalese.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/legalese. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Legal Definition

legalese

noun
le·​gal·​ese ˌlē-gə-ˈlēz, -ˈlēs How to pronounce legalese (audio)
: the specialized language of the legal profession

More from Merriam-Webster on legalese

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