warspeak

English

Etymology

war +‎ -speak

Noun

warspeak (uncountable)

1. The jargon of war and military operations.
   • 1993, Political Science Quarterly, volume 108, page 184:

     In an interesting passage the author discusses what he considers the kind of "Warspeak that glorified and sanitized the actions of the U.S.-led allied forces (the use of words like eliminate, neutralize, loyal, brave, cautious, etc.) […]

   • 2004, Paul McFedries, Word Spy: The Word Lover's Guide to Modern Culture‎^[1], Broadway Books, →ISBN:

     My personal favorite that emerged from the fog of warspeak was gorilla snot (2001), a gluelike substance that is spread over sand to prevent a dust cloud from forming whenever a helicopter takes off or lands.

   • 2015, Richard van de Lagemaat, Theory of Knowledge for the IB Diploma, Cambridge University Press, →ISBN, page 106:

     Whatever your views about the rights and wrongs of these military campaigns, you would probably agree that it is psychologically easier to kill 'gooks' and 'turkeys' than human beings. Here are some more examples of 'warspeak', which is often used to cover up the reality on the ground.

Antonyms

• peacespeak