The academic nursing community across Canada and worldwide relies on literature with technically accurate terms. Despite this, scientific literature contains ‘tortured phrases’ (TPs)—linguistically and scientifically inaccurate representations of established technical terms or jargon—that can arise when texts are synonymized using tools based on artificial intelligence. TPs pose a threat to the integrity of nursing literature. We exemplify these issues in this editorial with several health-related examples of TPs that authors, peer reviewers, or editors of nursing journals might encounter in scientific literature they read, cite, peer review, or edit.
Teixeira da SilvaJ. A. (2022). Tortured phrases dilute the specificity of medical jargon. Journal of Health and Social Sciences, 7(2), 137–140. https://doi.org/10.19204/2022/TRTR2
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Teixeira da SilvaJ. A. (2025). ‘Tortured phrases’ in biological, biomedical, chemical and environmental sciences. Journal of Biosciences, 50(4), 81. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12038-025-00564-w
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Teixeira da SilvaJ. A.TsigarisP. (2024). ChatGPT’s ability to reverse “tortured phrases” into standardized English and scientific jargon: Relevance to nurse educators and researchers. Nurse Educator, 49(3), E161. https://doi.org/10.1097/NNE.0000000000001636
