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definitions

prolix

[proh-liks, proh-liks]
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SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR prolix ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

extended to great, unnecessary, or tedious length; long and wordy.
(of a person) given to speaking or writing at great or tedious length.

RELATED WORDS

diffusion, rhetoric, redundancy, garrulity, copiousness, verbosity, circumlocution, diffuseness, verboseness, verbiage, loquacity, pleonasm, repetition, logorrhea, tautology, loquaciousness, redundance, wordage

Origin of prolix

1375–1425; late Middle English < Latin prōlixus extended, long, equivalent to prō- pro-1 + -lixus, akin to līquī to flow; see liquor
Related formspro·lix·i·ty [proh-lik-si-tee] /proʊˈlɪk sɪ ti/, pro·lix·ness, nounpro·lix·ly, adverbnon·pro·lix, adjectivenon·pro·lix·ly, adverbnon·pro·lix·ness, nounnon·pro·lix·i·ty, nouno·ver·pro·lix, adjectiveo·ver·pro·lix·ly, adverbo·ver·pro·lix·ness, nouno·ver·pro·lix·i·ty, nounun·pro·lix, adjective

Synonyms for prolix

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR prolix ON THESAURUS.COM
1. prolonged, protracted. See wordy. 1, 2. verbose.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for prolixity

Historical Examples of prolixity

  • You will pardon an old man's prolixity, in consideration for the motives which prompt it.

    Roland Cashel

    Charles James Lever

  • But it also causes his lack of depth and the prolixity by which he is characterized.

  • It has not the prolixity which is so common a fault of apocalyptic commentators.

  • Do not fancy from this my prolixity of explanation, that we were so slow in comprehending all these points.

    The War Trail

    Mayne Reid

  • I fear I am wearying you with the prolixity of my narrative.

    The House

    Eugene Field

British Dictionary definitions for prolixity

prolix

adjective

(of a speech, book, etc) so long as to be boring; verbose
indulging in prolix speech or writing; long-winded
Derived Formsprolixity or rare prolixness, nounprolixly, adverb

Word Origin for prolix

C15: from Latin prōlixus stretched out widely, from pro- 1 + līquī to flow
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
Word Origin and History for prolixity
n.

late 14c., from Old French prolixité "verbosity" (13c.), from Latin prolixitatem (nominative prolixitas), from prolixus (see prolix).

prolix

adj.

early 15c., from Old French prolixe (13c.) and directly from Latin prolixus "extended," literally "poured out," from pro- "forth" (see pro-) + base of liquere "to flow" (see liquid (adj.)).

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper