circumlocution
[ sur-kuhm-loh-kyoo-shuhn ]
/ ˌsɜr kəm loʊˈkyu ʃən /
noun
a roundabout or indirect way of speaking; the use of more words than necessary to express an idea.
a roundabout expression.
RELATED WORDS
Nearby words
circumfluous, circumfuse, circumgyration, circumincession, circumjacent, circumlocution, circumlunar, circumnavigate, circumnutate, circumnutation, circumocular
Origin of circumlocution
SYNONYMS FOR circumlocution
Related forms
cir·cum·loc·u·to·ry [sur-kuhm-lok-yuh-tawr-ee, -tohr-ee] /ˌsɜr kəmˈlɒk yəˌtɔr i, -ˌtoʊr i/, cir·cum·lo·cu·tion·al, cir·cum·lo·cu·tion·ar·y, adjectiveun·cir·cum·loc·u·to·ry, adjectiveDictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Examples from the Web for circumlocution
British Dictionary definitions for circumlocution
circumlocution
/ (ˌsɜːkəmləˈkjuːʃən) /
noun
an indirect way of expressing something
an indirect expression
Derived Forms
circumlocutory (ˌsɜːkəmˈlɒkjʊtərɪ, -trɪ), adjectiveCollins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Culture definitions for circumlocution
circumlocution
[ (sur-kuhm-loh-kyooh-shuhn) ]
Roundabout speech or writing: “The driveway was not unlike that military training device known as an obstacle course” is a circumlocution for “The driveway resembled an obstacle course.” Circumlocution comes from Latin words meaning “speaking around.”
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.