prolix
Americanadjective
-
extended to great, unnecessary, or tedious length; long and wordy.
- Synonyms:
- verbose, protracted
-
(of a person) given to speaking or writing at great or tedious length.
- Synonyms:
- verbose
adjective
-
(of a speech, book, etc) so long as to be boring; verbose
-
indulging in prolix speech or writing; long-winded
Synonym Usage
See wordy.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of prolix
First recorded in 1375–1425; late Middle English, from Latin prōlixus “extended, long,” equivalent to prō- pro- 1 + -lixus, akin to līquī “to flow”; see liquor
Explanation
A book that feels like it is several hundred pages longer than it needs to be is prolix. The word simply means that something has too many words and goes on too long. To avoid being called prolix, we'll keep this short. Prolix means using more words than necessary. For a less formal word choice try wordy, verbose, long-winded or drawn out.
Vocabulary lists containing prolix
The Scarlet Letter
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100 SAT words Beginning with "P"
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Talk the Talk: Synonyms for "Wordy"
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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.
Significant, Prolix The second international meeting of the P.E.N.
From Time Magazine Archive
Prolix, quartz, quandary, sylpb, rhythm, all the old tricks with consonants I could dream up or remember.
From "The Handmaid's Tale" by Margaret Atwood
Prolix, tedious Collins follows the plan he usually does when his rancorous prejudices do not influence him, and presents half a dozen utterly inconsistent accounts, with no effort whatever to reconcile them.
From The Winning of the West, Volume 2 From the Alleghanies to the Mississippi, 1777-1783 by Roosevelt, Theodore
Prolix compilations or sketchy outlines of universal history have their use and place, but they are removed by many degrees from the Decline and Fall, or rather they belong to another species of authorship.
From Gibbon by Morison, James Cotter
Prolix reports also helped to kill the patient.
From Around The Tea-Table by Talmage, T. De Witt (Thomas De Witt)
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.
