bureaucratese
noun
bu·reau·crat·ese
ˌbyu̇r-ə-(ˌ)kra-ˈtēz 
-ˈtēs,
ˌbyər-
: a style of language held to be characteristic of bureaucrats and marked by abstractions, jargon, euphemisms, and circumlocutions
Examples of bureaucratese in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Details of new initiatives were bogged down by mind-numbing bureaucratese.
—
Sharon Grigsby, Dallas News, 11 Apr. 2023
The most striking aspect of Putin’s failure to accept responsibility for the Kursk disaster was his retreat into bureaucratese.
—Masha Gessen, The New Yorker, 18 Mar. 2020
Viewers in the late Soviet era had become accustomed to a heavy lexicon of bureaucratese and boosterism that verged on the absurd.
—Joshua Yaffa, The New Yorker, 9 Dec. 2019
As reporter Alfonso Chardy noted at the time, the facility’s mental health treatment center—known in placid bureaucratese as the Krome Transitional Unit (KTU)—had never before been shown to the media.
—Ken Silverstein, The New Republic, 19 Aug. 2019
In that sense, the beige tone of Mr. Mueller’s report — that desiccating bureaucratese denying the events their juice and soundbite-ability — is something of a radical act in this day and age.
—James Poniewozik, New York Times, 25 June 2019
Graff, a magazine journalist, delights in describing these hideaways (whose existence was first revealed in the 1990s) and the plans for using them; as a result, his narrative sometimes gets bogged down in elaborate, acronym-laden bureaucratese.
—Justin Vogt, New York Times, 16 June 2017
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Sharon Grigsby, Dallas News, 11 Apr. 2023
The most striking aspect of Putin’s failure to accept responsibility for the Kursk disaster was his retreat into bureaucratese.
—Masha Gessen, The New Yorker, 18 Mar. 2020
Viewers in the late Soviet era had become accustomed to a heavy lexicon of bureaucratese and boosterism that verged on the absurd.
—Joshua Yaffa, The New Yorker, 9 Dec. 2019
As reporter Alfonso Chardy noted at the time, the facility’s mental health treatment center—known in placid bureaucratese as the Krome Transitional Unit (KTU)—had never before been shown to the media.
—Ken Silverstein, The New Republic, 19 Aug. 2019
In that sense, the beige tone of Mr. Mueller’s report — that desiccating bureaucratese denying the events their juice and soundbite-ability — is something of a radical act in this day and age.
—James Poniewozik, New York Times, 25 June 2019
Graff, a magazine journalist, delights in describing these hideaways (whose existence was first revealed in the 1990s) and the plans for using them; as a result, his narrative sometimes gets bogged down in elaborate, acronym-laden bureaucratese.
—Justin Vogt, New York Times, 16 June 2017
Dictionary Entries Near bureaucratese
Cite this Entry
“Bureaucratese.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bureaucratese. Accessed 17 Dec. 2024.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share