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Glite Dictionary
medicalese

medicalese

1 9.3
A way doctors and nurses use words that most people find hard to understand
  • noun
  • /ˌmɛdɪkəˈliz/
  • Jargon
translation icon : jerga médica
  • This is similar to the fact that my mother's death certificate lists hemorrhage (I forget the medicalese adjective accompanying that word) as the cause of death, which is true: she bled to death internally when a major vein ruptured.

Examples

  • The article aimed to translate the complex medicalese into simpler terms for the general public to grasp the health issues discussed.

  • When discussing his diagnosis, the doctor used so much medicalese that I struggled to understand his explanations.

  • Many patients find it difficult to comprehend the medicalese used in their health reports, leading to confusion about their conditions.

Synonyms

jargon
vsmedicalese
43 7.2

Words used by a group or job that others cannot understand

applies specifically to the medical field rather than to any profession
doctorspeak
vsmedicalese
  • Slang
9.9

Way doctors speak that is full of medical words and hard for patients to understand

is used by a wider range of medical professionals not limited to one role

How Technical

technicism
  • Jargon
9.9
medicalese
  • Jargon
1 9.3

Surface Forms

medicalese singular
medicaleses plural

Morphology

medicalese = medical (transparent) = medical + ese

The suffix '-ese' commonly denotes a style or language associated with the adjective 'medical', so the meaning 'language/jargon of medicine' is directly derivable.

Etymology

Medicalese combines medical and the ending -ese, the same ending in legalese and Chinese, which marks a particular way of speaking. So, medicalese means the 'special language' or 'jargon' doctors use that is hard for ordinary people to understand.