prolix

adjective

pro·​lix prō-ˈliks  ˈprō-(ˌ)liks 

1

: unduly prolonged or drawn out : too long

2

: marked by or using an excess of words

prolixity

prō-ˈlik-sə-tē 

noun

prolixly adverb

Did you know?

There's no way to talk about prolix without being redundant, verbose, and wordy. That's because the word is a synonym of all of those long-winded terms. Of those words, prolix is the one most likely to suggest unreasonable and tedious dwelling on details. It derives from prolixus, a Latin term meaning "extended" or "copious." Prolixus originated from a combination of the prefix pro- (which means "forward") and the past participle of liquēre, a verb meaning "to be fluid." True to that history, something that is prolix flows on and on.

Synonyms

• circuitous
• circumlocutory
• diffuse
• garrulous
• logorrheic
• long-winded
• pleonastic
• rambling
• verbose
• windy
• wordy

Choose the Right Synonym for prolix

wordy, verbose, prolix, diffuse mean using more words than necessary to express thought.

wordy may also imply loquaciousness or garrulity.

a wordy speech

verbose suggests a resulting dullness, obscurity, or lack of incisiveness or precision.

the verbose position papers

prolix suggests unreasonable and tedious dwelling on details.

habitually transformed brief anecdotes into prolix sagas

diffuse stresses lack of compactness and pointedness of style.

diffuse memoirs that are so many shaggy-dog stories

Examples of prolix in a Sentence

The speech was unnecessarily prolix.

a person known for habitually transforming brief anecdotes into prolix sagas that exhaust their listeners

Recent Examples on the Web

Words, including those of artists themselves—as prolix in their way as critics, curators, and historians—can serve vision but can also deflect from it. —Barry Schwabsky, ARTnews.com, 3 Sep. 2019

In 1949, a young American artist named Ray Johnson left Black Mountain College near Asheville, N.C., moved to New York City and began to explore his prolix talents, both visual and verbal. —Roberta Smith, New York Times, 30 May 2024

The album is a concise, 10-song set, a deliberate contrast to prolix streaming-era albums like the ones released lately by Taylor Swift and Beyoncé. —Jon Pareles, New York Times, 17 May 2024

A certain type of actor thrives in these prolix circumstances. —Los Angeles Times, 12 Oct. 2021

His answer is this book: a laudably sincere, exasperatingly prolix and occasionally affecting rumination on the state of Egypt—its society, culture, history and politics—pegged to the maddening bureaucracy of the archive. —Kapil Komireddi, WSJ, 12 Mar. 2023

Most books and essays published these days are too long: gummed up with adjectives and pointless asides, laden with prolix displays of expertise. —Barton Swaim, WSJ, 19 Sep. 2022

There’s a hypnotic quality to this freewheeling central section, a sustained charge that falters in some of the more prolix passages around it. —David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter, 1 Sep. 2022

Ames’s ruminations on the soul are prolix, philosophical, and profoundly sad. —Hermione Lee, The New York Review of Books, 22 Oct. 2020

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, from Anglo-French & Latin; Anglo-French prolix, from Latin prolixus extended, from pro- forward + liquēre to be fluid — more at liquid

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

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Kids Definition

prolix

adjective

pro·​lix prō-ˈliks  ˈprō-(ˌ)liks 

: too long-winded or wordy

prolixity

prō-ˈlik-sət-ē 

noun