tortured phrase

Noun

tortured phrase (plural tortured phrases)

1. (neologism) A nonsensical phrase created by replacing words with synonyms in order to disguise plagiarism, typically as a result of "text spinning".
   • Our study introduces the concept of tortured phrases: unexpected weird phrases in lieu of established ones, such as ‘counterfeit consciousness’ instead of ‘artificial intelligence.’[2021 July 21, Cabanac, Guillaume; Labbé, Cyril; Magazinov, Alexander, “Tortured phrases: A dubious writing style emerging in science. Evidence of critical issues affecting established journals”, in...
   • The present study aims at investigating how tortured phrases, that are not yet listed, can be detected automatically.2022 October 24, Lay, Puthineath; Lentschat, Martin; Labbé, Cyril, “Investigating the detection of Tortured Phrases in Scientific Literature”, in arXiv, →DOI

   Synonyms:

   Rogetism

2. Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see tortured, phrase.