verbalism

[vur-buh-liz-uh m]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR verbalism ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a verbal expression, as a word or phrase.

the way in which something is worded; choice of words; phrasing.

a phrase or sentence having little or no meaning.

a use of words considered as predominating over or obscuring ideas or reality; verbiage.

Origin of verbalism

First recorded in 1780–90; verbal + -ism

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for verbalism

style, diction, language, locution, phrasing, phraseology, manner, words, phrase, parlance, terminology, mode, wordage

Examples from the Web for verbalism

Historical Examples of verbalism

Verbalism demands a set form used with irreproachable skill.
Instigations
Ezra Pound

British Dictionary definitions for verbalism

verbalism

noun

a verbal expression; phrase or word

an exaggerated emphasis on the importance of words by the uncritical acceptance of assertions in place of explanations, the use of rhetorical style, etc

a statement lacking real content, esp a cliché

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