What does computerese mean?
Computerese is the specialized vocabulary used in connection with computers, software, and digital technology. It includes technical terms, abbreviations, and conventional expressions drawn from computing, electronics, programming, and related fields. The word can be used neutrally when discussing the language of a particular discipline, but it is often mildly critical or humorous when the vocabulary seems obscure, unnecessarily complicated, or difficult for ordinary users to understand. For example, a document described as “full of computerese” may be accurate but inaccessible rather than erroneous. The term is also useful because it highlights how specialist communities develop shared terms to communicate efficiently. Such vocabulary can be precise and valuable to experts, yet confusing to newcomers. Computerese is therefore best understood as both a technical register and a label for the perceived opacity of that register.
nounThe specialized technical vocabulary associated with computers and computing. It can denote the terminology of the field neutrally, but is often used for jargon that is difficult for non-specialists to understand.
- The specialized vocabulary or technical jargon associated with computers and computing.
"The manual was so filled with computerese that even the experienced developers needed to look up several terms."
"The support agent's reply was dense with computerese and offered no practical solution."
"Although she found the documentation full of computerese, the introductory chapter was clearly written for beginners."
The plural is possible but uncommon; the word is usually used as an uncountable collective noun.
"The guide avoids the computereses of specialist publications."
Computerese is the language of computers—except that, to non-specialists, it can sound as though the computers are speaking among themselves.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does computerese come from?
Computerese is an English formation combining computer with the suffix -ese, which is used to form names of languages, styles, or specialized vocabularies. The suffix is familiar from words such as journalese, which means the characteristic language of journalists or journal writing. The combination developed during the twentieth century as computing became an increasingly important field with its own terminology and conventions.
How computerese is actually used
The term has a mildly critical or humorous edge when it describes jargon that excludes non-specialists. In technical or educational contexts, it can refer neutrally to computing terminology.
Easily confused with computerese
A computer is a machine that processes information, whereas computerese is the specialized language or jargon associated with computers.