administrationese

/ədmɪnəˌstɹejʃəˈniːz/

noun

The jargon used in administration.

Scrabble 20

Meanings

nounadministrationese (uncountable)
  1. colloquialrareuncountableThe jargon used in administration.

    It seems strange to have to ask, but suddenly we wonder… […] -why administrators, in their peculiar administrationese, ask for "student input"--and then tell lus^([sic]) our options are foreclosed?

    1977 December 16, “Commentary”, in The Goucher Weekly, volume 63, number 12, page 2
    3 more examples

    Chairs and faculty members quickly learn that deans speak in strange tongues (ICLMs [Induced Course Load Matrices], FTEs [Full-Time Equivalents], and outcomes are administrationese from three different decades).

    1994 April 1, Dealing With the Dean, “Dealing With the Dean”, in ADFL Bulletin, volume 25, number 3, →DOI, page 12b of 11–16

    Englishes used in ESL countries tend to be characterized by […] 3. a restricted input, historically often dominated by administrationese, literary English from Shakespeare to Dickens, and biblical language; its application to other text types can result in register misuse and unusual mixes.

    1997 September 1, Manfred Görlach, “Varieties of English world-wide: where we stand”, in Links & Letters, number 5, 1998, page 28 of 13-36

    A stickler for the proper use of the English language, in one of his editorials, FJS commented: “Besides grammatical errors, the language is polluted (even by the ‘educated’) with jargon, clichés, and what I will call administrationese. I cannot count the times I have recently heard ‘going forward.’

    2008 August 1, William F. Young, Jr., “THE ENDOCRINE SOCIETY 2008 LAUREATE AWARDS: Citation for the 2008 Distinguished Physician Award of The Endocrine Society to Dr. F. John Service”, in Molecular Endocrinology, volume 22, number 8, →DOI, pages 1977–1989

    Synonyms: administrationspeak, adminspeak, adminese

Synonyms & antonyms

nounThe jargon used in administration.

Origin

Translations

Finnish hallintokieli
  • hallintokieliTranslations
German Verwaltungssprech
  • VerwaltungssprechTranslations
Ukrainian канцеляризм
  • канцеляризм (kanceljaryzm)Translations
Cite this entry
APA

administrationese. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/administrationese

MLA

“administrationese.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/administrationese. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “administrationese,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/administrationese.

Source: administrationese on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.