WCAG 2.0 · Level AAA · Understandable
3.1.3 Unusual Words
Manual verification
How to validate 3.1.3 by hand
At Level AAA, check for words or phrases whose meaning depends on specialized or unusual usage.
Start with the extension result
Reopen the reported URL and reproduce the same state (for example, after expanding a menu or submitting a form). Use the result’s Highlight action when available, or its affected-element details and CSS selector, to find the reported content. Apply the checks below to that content and its context. If the element or state has changed, rescan and record that difference before deciding whether the finding still applies.
- Review representative content for jargon, idioms, specialized terms, and words used in a restricted sense.
- Ask a reader unfamiliar with the subject to identify terms they cannot understand from context.
- Check for a definition, glossary, or nearby explanation that a user can reach without losing their place.
Evidence to record
Record the term, the audience/context, and whether an accessible definition or explanation is available.
Scope and exceptions
This is a Level AAA content-judgment criterion. A dictionary definition may not explain a specialized meaning used by the page.
Record the review outcome
- Confirmed: the recorded evidence shows the requirement is not met in the tested page state, and no applicable exception explains it.
- Not reproduced: the reported issue is absent in the current state. Record the URL, state, and affected element you checked; this does not prove other pages or states conform.
- Needs more review: evidence is incomplete, the content requires human judgment, or an exception is uncertain. Record what remains to be checked instead of treating it as a pass.