Officialese, bureaucratese, or governmentese is language that sounds official. It is the "language of officialdom". Officialese is characterized by a preference for wordy, long sentences; complex words, code words, or buzzwords over simple, traditional ones; vagueness over directness; and passive over active voice. The history of officialese can be traced to the history of officialdom, as far back as the eldest human civilizations and their surviving official writings.