jargon
/ˈdʒɑːɡən/ (bre, ipa) · /ˈdʒɑːrɡən/ (ame, ipa) · /ˈjär-gən -ˌgän/ (ame, mw)
jargon — noun
1. the set of special words and expressions that people in a particular profession,
the set of special words and expressions that people in a particular profession, industry, or area of study use, and that people outside that group often find hard to understand.
The surgeon explained the procedure using medical jargon that confused the patient's family.
medical jargon — domain adjective + jargon
Amihan struggled to understand the legal jargon in her apartment lease contract.
During the Monday meeting, the marketing director's corporate jargon — 'touchpoints', 'value-add', 'circle back' — left the new hire confused.
Noor needed a glossary to get through the academic jargon in the linguistics paper.
Yael's manager asked her to remove the technical jargon from the presentation slides.
- terminology
neutral and factual; refers to the technical terms of a field without the negative tone that jargon sometimes carries.
- lingo
informal and often affectionate; refers to the everyday language of a group rather than formal professional terms.
- argot
formal or literary; suggests a secret or semi-secret vocabulary used by a closed group such as criminals or subcultures.
- cant
dated or specialist; refers to the secret language of thieves or, historically, of certain religious groups.
- plain English
simple, clear language that anyone can understand, without specialized terms.
文法句型
domain noun + jargon (e.g. legal jargon)
jargon of + field
用法筆記
Jargon is uncountable and does not normally take a plural form. It often carries a mildly negative tone — it suggests the language is unnecessarily complex or shuts out non-specialists. For a neutral alternative, use 'terminology'; for informal group language, use 'slang'.
常見錯誤
jargon — verb
- jargonpresent simple I / you / we / they
- jargons3rd person singular
- jargoning-ing form
- jargonedpast simple
1. to speak or write in jargon, especially when a simpler, clearer way of saying so
to speak or write in jargon, especially when a simpler, clearer way of saying something would be possible.
The consultant tended to jargon during team meetings, using buzzwords that no one questioned.
intransitive use of rare verb sense
The CEO jargoned her way through the presentation, filling every slide with empty corporate phrases.
When academics jargon in their writing, they risk confusing readers who are new to the field.
Andrei's editor told him to stop jargoning and write the report in plain language.
用法筆記
This verb sense is very rare in modern English. The noun form is used far more often. The derived verb 'jargonize' (or 'jargonise' in British English) sometimes appears in academic or critical writing about language.