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jargonize

/ˈdʒɑrgəˌnaɪz/
IPA guide

Other forms: jargonized; jargonizes; jargonizing

People jargonize when they take an ordinary word or phrase and make it sound more technical or specialized, transforming it into something that only those in certain professions can understand.

Sometimes, jargonizing changes vague words into more specific and clear ones, especially to people in the same field. One example is taking the message "do it quickly, it's important," and turning into the emergency room term "stat." However, jargonizing is often annoying, with the jargon repeated so often that it becomes meaningless. In corporate environments, phrases like "let's put a pin in it" or "it's like herding cats" simply mean "let's come back to that later" and "it's really difficult."

Definitions of jargonize
  1. verb
    express, translate, or use a word or phrase with technical or specialized language
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