serioze

Serioze is a neologism used in discourse studies to describe the act and effect of presenting information in a manner that signals seriousness, with the aim of increasing perceived credibility or authority. The term blends serious, describing solemn or weighty content, with the suffix -ize, to form a verb meaning to treat or render something as serious.

Usage and mechanism: Serioze can involve formal register, explicit quantification, hedging, precise terminology, and an impersonal third-person voice. It often relies on structured argumentation, staged emphasis on consequences, and the appearance of neutrality, even when the underlying content is contested.

Contexts: The term is applied to political speeches, corporate communications, policy reports, and online debates where actors seek to constrain interpretation by presenting data or claims as objectively credible.

Effects and critique: Proponents argue serioze increases trust and clarity; critics warn that it can obscure uncertainty, oversell evidence, or suppress dissent. The effectiveness depends on the audience's prior attitudes and on the actual quality of the presented data.

Variations and form: Nouns formed include seriozation; adjectives include seriozed. Example: The press release seriozed the impact by citing a meta-analysis and the potential consequences for stakeholders.

See also: credibility, ethos, discourse analysis, rhetorical strategy, misinformation.