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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There’s no The Bear-style ambiguity for awards purposes.Daniel Fienberg, The Hollywood Reporter, 12 Dec. 2024
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One potential downside is the risk of role ambiguity.Dr. Diane Hamilton, Forbes, 11 Dec. 2024
Noun
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In Malone’s hands, those associations change under the pressure of repetition, particularly in the stark, piercing sound-world of the organ.Alex Ross, The New Yorker, 2 Dec. 2024
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Progressive overload means gradually increasing your routine's weight, frequency, or number of repetitions to challenge your muscles.Alyssa Hui-Anderson, Verywell Health, 25 Nov. 2024
Noun
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Rotation shuffle: With Kevin Love missing the game with the back spasms that had him out after his initial stint in Tuesday night’s loss to the Bucks, first-round pick Ware played as the Heat’s first big man off the bench.Ira Winderman, Sun Sentinel, 27 Nov. 2024
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The clogs—which are filled with some sort of Tempurpedic material inside and come in a variety of designs for all animal lovers—are so comfortable for a morning shuffle to the coffee shop or around the backyard.Hannah Jackson, Vogue, 26 Nov. 2024
Noun
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This, along with the ICC's decision to indict a Hamas commander—in the same breath as Netanyahu and Gallant—exposes the macabre moral equivocation that so often lurks behind the legal mumbo jumbo of both international organizations.Matt Robison, Newsweek, 21 Nov. 2024
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Whatever happened to honesty in lieu of lies, equivocations or alternative facts?Armstrong Williams, Baltimore Sun, 3 Nov. 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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What is Sora? Sora represents a significant leap in generative AI capabilities, functioning as a diffusion model to transform text prompts into videos of up to one minute.Moin Roberts-Islam, Forbes, 26 Nov. 2024
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Redfield also cites the diffusion of media as another factor for national political themes being used in local contests.Rick Pearson, Chicago Tribune, 3 Nov. 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 Dec. 2024.
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