circumlocution

[ sur-kuhm-loh-kyoo-shuhn ]
/ ˌsɜr kəm loʊˈkyu ʃən /
SEE SYNONYMS FOR circumlocution ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a roundabout or indirect way of speaking; the use of more words than necessary to express an idea.
a roundabout expression.

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advocate
to give up possession or occupancy of.
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Origin of circumlocution

1375–1425; late Middle English < Latin circumlocūtiōn- (stem of circumlocūtiō). See circum-, locution

OTHER WORDS FROM circumlocution

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, adjective

Words nearby circumlocution

circumfluous, circumfuse, circumgyration, circumincession, circumjacent, circumlocution, circumlunar, circumnavigate, circumnutate, circumnutation, circumocular
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Words related to circumlocution

euphemism, diffuseness, wordiness, roundabout, prolixity, pleonasm, verbiage, indirectness, tautology, periphrasis, discursiveness, periphrase, verbality

Example sentences from the Web for circumlocution

British Dictionary definitions for circumlocution

circumlocution
/ (ˌsɜːkəmləˈkjuːʃən) /

noun

an indirect way of expressing something
an indirect expression

Derived forms of circumlocution

circumlocutory (ˌsɜːkəmˈlɒkjʊtərɪ, -trɪ), adjective
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Cultural 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.