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.
—
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
-
This ambiguity will continue to stifle innovation and will leave banks uncertain about how to proceed, or whether they are permitted to proceed at all.—
Gene A. Grant II,
Forbes,
12 Mar. 2025
-
A lot of them also indicate a psychotic break, introducing an element of ambiguity that’s true to life and also smart for an independent filmmaker without a huge budget for alien effects.—
Katie Rife,
IndieWire,
12 Mar. 2025
Noun
-
Take a one- or two-minute break between repetitions, repeating one or two times.—
Dana Santas,
CNN,
12 Mar. 2025
-
While some people initially took Trump’s comments about Canada becoming the 51st state as a joke, his constant repetition means Canadians are no longer laughing, Kahlon said.—
Josh Fellman,
Quartz,
10 Mar. 2025
Noun
-
Randall hunched over his drums and played a fast Ringo shuffle.—
Andy Greene,
Rolling Stone,
16 Mar. 2025
-
Players can use a shuffle button to mix up the words on the screen if they get stuck.—
Mark Davis,
Newsweek,
16 Mar. 2025
Noun
-
Ultimately, what may matter most is what Trump wants given his near total control of Washington, but the current equivocation from congressional Republicans is pronounced.—
Shahar Ziv,
Forbes,
6 Mar. 2025
-
Your moral equivocation about a deliberate hit to the head is offensive.—
Daniel Nugent-Bowman,
The Athletic,
19 Jan. 2025
Noun
-
Still, the challenge lies in managing the explosive verbosity that modern tools enable effortlessly.—
Cornelia C. Walther,
Forbes,
24 Feb. 2025
-
Crisp articulation of ideas trumps verbosity, fostering a culture that treasures originality and respect for the reader’s time.—
Cornelia C. Walther,
Forbes,
24 Feb. 2025
Noun
-
Three criteria – depth, diffusion, and duration – need to be met individually to some degree in order to formally identify a recession, according to the NBER.—
Rachel Barber,
USA TODAY,
12 Mar. 2025
-
The data are displayed in an image that is color coded to draw attention to areas of impaired diffusion.—
IEEE Spectrum,
IEEE Spectrum,
5 Mar. 2025
Noun
-
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
-
Nor has Musk kept his Twitter logorrhea in check in other respects.—
Michael Hiltzik,
Los Angeles Times,
28 Apr. 2022
Noun
-
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
-
Reached by the Union-Tribune Wednesday morning, Lindsey differed with McGillis’ wordage.—
Don Norcross,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
22 Mar. 2023
Cite this Entry
“Circumlocution.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/circumlocution. Accessed 24 Mar. 2025.
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