1
as in ambiguity
deliberate evasion in speech
rather than answering the question directly, he resorted to circumlocution, which made her suspect that he was hiding something
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in repetition
the use of too many words to express an idea
your papers have to be five pages long, but that's five pages of substance, not circumlocution
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Recent Examples of circumlocution
Here, instead, she’s swayed by a dead Diana softly squeezing her hand and kindly hinting — the dead Diana is an ace at tactful circumlocution — that now is the time to show a mourning nation some emotion.
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Tom Gliatto, Peoplemag, 16 Nov. 2023
By condensing Balzac’s opus to a few paragraphs, Barthelme was having a laugh not just at his predecessor’s genteel circumlocution—his tendency to describe buildings and manufacturing procedures and family trees in lavish detail—but also at the conventions of novelistic mimesis itself.
—Giles Harvey, The New York Review of Books, 23 Apr. 2020
This year, House Republicans unveiled a new Conservative Climate Caucus that, in a fascinating circumlocution, sort of recognizes that fossil fuels are causing the planet to warm.
—Robinson Meyer, The Atlantic, 2 Nov. 2022
Powell’s statement yesterday (September 22) is the masterpiece of its type, building upon fifteen months of this playful circumlocution, downshifting into bureaucratic blandness.
—George Calhoun, Forbes, 23 Sep. 2021
But the national crisis in policing and the response to it isn’t a matter of arid elite debate or familiar political circumlocution and compromise anymore.
—David Roth, The New Republic, 11 June 2020
These circumlocutions are meant to emphasize the fact that Africans traded like chattel were not, in their essence, slaves but human beings.
—Lionel Shriver, Harper's magazine, 25 Nov. 2019
Although incredibly popular, with 60% approval ratings, Ahok was considered by many to be a divisive figure, by virtue both of his minority status and of his bluntness, which ran counter to Javanese traditions of deference and circumlocution.
—The Economist, 12 Apr. 2018
Mungiu, like many Romanian directors, has a sadistic streak for circumlocution.
—Jordan Hoffman, VanityFair.com, 6 Apr. 2017
Tom Gliatto, Peoplemag, 16 Nov. 2023
By condensing Balzac’s opus to a few paragraphs, Barthelme was having a laugh not just at his predecessor’s genteel circumlocution—his tendency to describe buildings and manufacturing procedures and family trees in lavish detail—but also at the conventions of novelistic mimesis itself.
—Giles Harvey, The New York Review of Books, 23 Apr. 2020
This year, House Republicans unveiled a new Conservative Climate Caucus that, in a fascinating circumlocution, sort of recognizes that fossil fuels are causing the planet to warm.
—Robinson Meyer, The Atlantic, 2 Nov. 2022
Powell’s statement yesterday (September 22) is the masterpiece of its type, building upon fifteen months of this playful circumlocution, downshifting into bureaucratic blandness.
—George Calhoun, Forbes, 23 Sep. 2021
But the national crisis in policing and the response to it isn’t a matter of arid elite debate or familiar political circumlocution and compromise anymore.
—David Roth, The New Republic, 11 June 2020
These circumlocutions are meant to emphasize the fact that Africans traded like chattel were not, in their essence, slaves but human beings.
—Lionel Shriver, Harper's magazine, 25 Nov. 2019
Although incredibly popular, with 60% approval ratings, Ahok was considered by many to be a divisive figure, by virtue both of his minority status and of his bluntness, which ran counter to Javanese traditions of deference and circumlocution.
—The Economist, 12 Apr. 2018
Mungiu, like many Romanian directors, has a sadistic streak for circumlocution.
—Jordan Hoffman, VanityFair.com, 6 Apr. 2017
Recent Examples of Synonyms for circumlocution
Noun
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The pleasure mostly derives from picking out the remaining ambiguities, especially related to the film’s flash-forward coda; the finale has already inspired a lot of heated social-media debate over its intention.David Sims, The Atlantic, 10 Jan. 2025
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Where American Primeval has at least allowed a sliver of ambiguity when portraying whether or not Young was complicit in the massacre’s cover-up until now, there’s none of that here.Keith Phipps, Vulture, 10 Jan. 2025
Noun
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Relationships need repetition and structure to grow.Serena Dai, The Atlantic, 12 Jan. 2025
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Rather, these freelancing skills are developed through repetition and practice, and through learning from and watching the habits of other freelancers who've made it to the pinnacles of their careers.Rachel Wells, Forbes, 1 Jan. 2025
Noun
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Players can use the shuffle button to mix up the words on the screen if they get stuck.Billie Schwab Dunn, Newsweek, 7 Jan. 2025
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There may be a shuffle with advertising money and consumer preferences shuffling, but everything is only additive.Sweta Kaushal, Forbes, 25 Dec. 2024
Noun
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The debate has pitted New York mayor, Eric Adams, who has condemned the murder without equivocation, against a significant groundswell of support for the alleged murderer.Josh Hammer, Newsweek, 23 Dec. 2024
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The Rios-Pineda Court observed, with little question or equivocation, that because the child was born in the United States, the child was in fact a citizen.Madison Czopek, Austin American-Statesman, 14 Dec. 2024
Noun
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When that’s chucked in a blender with his own penchant for spiky-savvy verbosity, the results fizz and pop.Sara Holdren, Vulture, 10 Nov. 2024
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But many French are deeply sick of hearing his volcanic verbosity.Lee Hockstader, Washington Post, 1 July 2024
Noun
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At the same time, middle powers trying to avoid coming under the shadow of either superpower, along with tech companies devoted to the global diffusion of technology through open markets, see AI development paving the path to a multipolar world.Reva Goujon, Foreign Affairs, 27 Dec. 2024
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In life sciences, diffusion models have inspired innovations like MIT’s DiffDock, which predicts how drug molecules will bind to proteins—a critical step in designing new therapies.Harini Gopalakrishnan, Forbes, 20 Dec. 2024
Noun
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Just as the limitless space of web text tempts writers to indulge their logorrhea, the blinking, ever-transmuting, cartoonish interface of web browsers prevents would-be readers from paying attention to anything for longer than about 7 seconds.Barton Swaim, WSJ, 19 Sep. 2022
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Nor has Musk kept his Twitter logorrhea in check in other respects.Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times, 28 Apr. 2022
Noun
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On their website, the three yellow stripes are prominently featured on the website under the Black Lives Matter wordage, and used on their social media accounts.Amritpal Kaur Sandhu-Longoria, USA TODAY, 29 Mar. 2023
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Reached by the Union-Tribune Wednesday morning, Lindsey differed with McGillis’ wordage.Don Norcross, San Diego Union-Tribune, 22 Mar. 2023
Thesaurus Entries Near circumlocution
Cite this Entry
“Circumlocution.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/circumlocution. Accessed 18 Jan. 2025.
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