1
as in roundabout
not straightforward or direct
we took a circuitous route to the airport so as to avoid the massive traffic jam on the highway
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in rambling
using or containing more words than necessary to express an idea
a circuitous explanation for what seems like a fairly basic concept
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of circuitous
Resilience is taking a much longer, more circuitous route to the moon; the Japanese lander isn't expected to reach lunar orbit until late May or early June.
—
Mike Wall, Space.com, 28 Feb. 2025
The water then was pumped throughout the city via a circuitous network of huge pipes, many of them buried under Greenmount Avenue and York Road.
—Jacques Kelly, Baltimore Sun, 8 Feb. 2025
Although the company's rocket factory in Florida is only a few miles from Launch Complex 36 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, because of the rocket and transporter's size, the procession had to follow a more circuitous route.
—Eric Berger, Ars Technica, 30 Oct. 2024
Early Career The story of Martinez’s circuitous route to All-Stardom has been told time and again.
—Dan Freedman, Forbes, 9 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for circuitous
Mike Wall, Space.com, 28 Feb. 2025
The water then was pumped throughout the city via a circuitous network of huge pipes, many of them buried under Greenmount Avenue and York Road.
—Jacques Kelly, Baltimore Sun, 8 Feb. 2025
Although the company's rocket factory in Florida is only a few miles from Launch Complex 36 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, because of the rocket and transporter's size, the procession had to follow a more circuitous route.
—Eric Berger, Ars Technica, 30 Oct. 2024
Early Career The story of Martinez’s circuitous route to All-Stardom has been told time and again.
—Dan Freedman, Forbes, 9 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for circuitous
Recent Examples of Synonyms for circuitous
Adjective
-
Put another way, Coyle is building on her 2014 acknowledgement that GDP has lacking qualities, as do economic statistics broadly in her view, all of which is a heavy throat-clearing, roundabout way of getting back to the anecdote that begins this review.—
John Tamny,
Forbes.com,
21 Apr. 2025
-
There’s always a connection to me as a performer live onstage, but there are also dramaturgical decisions made to have something between us, to be sometimes inaccessible or roundabout.—
Helen Shaw,
The New Yorker,
16 Mar. 2025
Adjective
-
Refine your key points to be clear and concise—no rambling monologues.—
Expert Panel®,
Forbes.com,
15 Apr. 2025
-
In the early morning hours of Dec. 26, 1996, Patsy Ramsey called 911 to report her 6-year-old daughter JonBenét missing, and found a rambling ransom note left inside their Boulder, Colorado, home.—
Erin Moriarty,
CBS News,
20 Dec. 2024
Adjective
-
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and President Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff held both direct and indirect discussions during the meeting that lasted more than four hours, according to a U.S. official.—
Filip Timotija,
The Hill,
19 Apr. 2025
-
In February, the National Institutes of Health announced a similar cut to indirect research costs, prompting several lawsuits.—
Thomas G. Moukawsher,
MSNBC Newsweek,
17 Apr. 2025
Adjective
-
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
Adjective
-
The circular dots found near the center of the fossil indicate that a predatory marine reptile called a mosasaur took some bites of it.—
Laura Baisas,
Popular Science,
16 Apr. 2025
-
The brand was recognized for using its knowledge to understand how trash can be used as part of a circular sustainability ecosystem for future automobiles.—
Matt Robison,
MSNBC Newsweek,
16 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Circuitous.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/circuitous. Accessed 28 Apr. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share