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
-
Be sure to make these documents easy to access and refer to for reference, which will reduce ambiguity and misinterpretations.—
Liz Guthridge,
Forbes.com,
18 Apr. 2025
-
This spring, the London theatre shimmers with this kind of ambiguity—real king, false king, portrait, mirror.—
Helen Shaw,
New Yorker,
17 Apr. 2025
Noun
-
People who completed the 10 repetitions for each exercise easily for two consecutive sessions moved up to a harder version of the exercise.—
Kristen Fischer,
Health,
17 Apr. 2025
-
He was inspired by the terse, concrete lines of Gertrude Stein and the repetition printmaking of Andy Warhol.—
Joshua Rothman,
New Yorker,
15 Apr. 2025
Noun
-
In 2021, Congress passed a bill authorizing TSA to develop a pilot program that could end the recheck shuffle stateside.—
Bailey Berg,
AFAR Media,
25 Mar. 2025
-
Offensive linemen: The shuffle continues with several players crosstraining: Olaus Alinen, Casey Poe and Michael Carroll, who were recruited to play interior positions, are getting tackle reps to help with depth.—
Kennington Smith III,
The Athletic,
24 Mar. 2025
Noun
-
Now is not the time for equivocation or delay.—
Dr. Josh Green,
CNN Money,
5 Apr. 2025
-
There is no equivocation about whether or not Jamie killed Katie.—
Paul Tassi,
Forbes,
19 Mar. 2025
Noun
-
Coogler can let his characters’ verbosity get the better of story momentum.—
Michael Phillips,
Chicago Tribune,
15 Apr. 2025
-
Still, the challenge lies in managing the explosive verbosity that modern tools enable effortlessly.—
Cornelia C. Walther,
Forbes,
24 Feb. 2025
Noun
-
President Wants ‘Fair Deals’ With Other Countries—But Unlikely Before Midnight Deadline Google’s Android Update—Bad News For Samsung And Pixel Users How does diffusion work?—
John Werner,
Forbes.com,
8 Apr. 2025
-
In February, John Smedley launched a diffusion line, JS by John Smedley, which is sold exclusively at John Lewis, that retails for $56 to $239, below the average of $305 in its core line.—
Hikmat Mohammed,
Footwear News,
7 Apr. 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 26 Apr. 2025.
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