The Jargon Buster scans your writing against a built-in glossary of 200+ common jargon words and acronyms, then suggests a shorter, plain-English replacement for each. Plain-language standards — GOV.UK style, the US Plain Writing Act, and most accessibility guidance — recommend everyday words over inflated business and government vocabulary so the widest possible audience can understand a notice. This tool finds those words and lets you swap them in one click.
How it works
The tool ships with a dictionary that maps each jargon term to its plain-English equivalent (for example utilise → use, commence → start, ascertain → find out, facilitate → help, going forward → from now on).
- Your text is matched against every glossary entry using whole-word, case-insensitive matching, so partial matches inside longer words are never touched.
- Each match is highlighted inline and listed with its suggested replacement.
- The replace all action substitutes every match for its plain-English form, preserving the original sentence-leading capitalisation, and the result can be copied to your clipboard.
Tips and notes
- Plain English is about clarity, not dumbing down. Keep technical terms your audience genuinely needs — only swap words that add length without adding meaning.
- Some swaps depend on context: leverage the noun (a lever’s mechanical advantage) is fine, but leverage as a verb usually just means use. Re-read each highlight before accepting it.
- After replacing, run the text through a sentence-length or passive-voice check too — short words plus short, active sentences give the best readability scores.