Synonyms for circumlocution
Most common
Definitions
- n. 1
A roundabout or indirect way of speaking; thus
- n. 2
A roundabout or indirect way of speaking; thus: Unnecessary use of extra words to express an idea, such as a pleonastic phrase (sometimes driven by an attempt at emphatic clarity) or a wordy substitution (the latter driven by euphemistic intent, pedagogic intent, or sometimes loquaciousness alone).
- n. 3
A roundabout or indirect way of speaking; thus: Necessary use of a phrase to circumvent either a vocabulary fault (of speaker or listener) or a lexical gap, either monolingually or in translation.
Related words
Forms
- Plural
- circumlocutions → periphrases, ambages, verbiages, verbosities…
Choose the right word
Circumlocution and periphrasis are roundabout ways of expressing thought; circumlocution is the more common, periphrasis the more technical word. Constant circumlocution produces an affected and heavy style; occasionally, skilful periphrasis conduces both to beauty and to simplicity.
J. C. Fernald, English Synonyms and Antonyms (1914)
Example sentences
- verbiage Words should be meaningful, not just verbiage.
- verbosity He was a very kind man, but his verbosity was exasperating.
- redundancy Tom wasn't eligible for redundancy payment.
Popularity over time
| Word | 1850 → 2019 | Trend |
|---|---|---|
| circumlocution | steady | |
| periphrasis | steady | |
| verbiage | falling | |
| verbosity | steady | |
| redundancy | steady | |
| anfractuosity | steady |
Use in printed books, per decade from 1850 to 2019.
By length
- 6 letters
- ambage
- 7 letters
- wordage, ambages
- 8 letters
- verbiage3, pleonasm4
- 9 letters
- tautology, verbosity
- 10 letters
- redundancy4, periphrase
- 11 letters
- periphrasis
- 13 letters
- anfractuosity
The small number after each word is its number of syllables (verbiage3 = 3 syllables).
In other languages
- Français
- périphrase
- Italiano
- perifrasi
- Deutsch
- Periphrase