as in repetition
the use of too many words to express an idea
congressional hearings into the Watergate scandal were marked by an orgy of periphrasis, the expression "at this point in time" being a memorable example
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Recent Examples of Synonyms for periphrasis
Noun
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The repetition of it was intimidating at first, but has now become almost sort of like therapeutic.Jeff Conway, Forbes, 4 Nov. 2024
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This line is reflexively repeated by pundits, talkers, and thinkers on both sides of the American political divide, and that repetition always engenders a great deal of backlash.Gordon G. Chang, Newsweek, 1 Nov. 2024
Noun
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To be as green as possible, the French maker of fragrance diffusion technologies Scentys introduced at Luxe Pack its new invention: sustainable, reusable capsules created with a blend of metal and plastic.Jennifer Weil, WWD, 22 Oct. 2024
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Popular on Variety The aroma will be activated at Alamo theaters via Joya Studio’s atomization technology, which employs cold-air diffusion to disperse scented molecules as fine, dry air without the use of heat, water or alcohol.Ethan Shanfeld, Variety, 22 Oct. 2024
Noun
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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
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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
Noun
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But many French are deeply sick of hearing his volcanic verbosity.Lee Hockstader, Washington Post, 1 July 2024
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Williams is regarded as a smart player, but has always played with a lot of emotion — and verbosity.Danny Emerman, The Mercury News, 24 Feb. 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
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Cite this Entry
“Periphrasis.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/periphrasis. Accessed 17 Nov. 2024.
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