periphrasis
Americannoun
plural
periphrases-
the use of an unnecessarily long or roundabout form of expression; circumlocution.
-
an expression phrased in such fashion.
noun
-
a roundabout way of expressing something; circumlocution
-
an expression of this kind
Etymology
Origin of periphrasis
1525–35; < Latin < Greek períphrasis. See peri-, phrase, -sis
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
This will sometimes require the use of unfamiliar periphrases: the words “music” and “rites” may be given as “the rhythm of life” and “conformity to the ideology.”
From Project Gutenberg
It is very odd—but if you see a remarkably modest-looking woman in Paris, you may be sure, as the periphrasis goes, that "she is no better than she should be."
From Project Gutenberg
What hasty words, I wonder, of the rude and haughty admiral were represented by this sonorous periphrasis?
From Project Gutenberg
He gradually acquired a reputation as a poet by his epistles, in which things are not called by their ordinary names but are hinted at by elaborate periphrases.
From Project Gutenberg
The only person who ventured to enter his room was Don Rosendo, who talked to him in a kind and dignified style, adorned with periphrases and florid periods befitting his character as a writer.
From Project Gutenberg
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
