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verbalism

[vur-buh-liz-uh m]
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noun
  1. a verbal expression, as a word or phrase.
  2. the way in which something is worded; choice of words; phrasing.
  3. a phrase or sentence having little or no meaning.
  4. a use of words considered as predominating over or obscuring ideas or reality; verbiage.
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Origin of verbalism

First recorded in 1780–90; verbal + -ism
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words

styledictionlanguagelocutionphrasingphraseologymannerwordsphraseparlanceterminologymodewordage

Examples from the Web for verbalism

Historical Examples

  • Verbalism demands a set form used with irreproachable skill.

    Instigations

    Ezra Pound

British Dictionary definitions for verbalism

verbalism

noun
  1. a verbal expression; phrase or word
  2. an exaggerated emphasis on the importance of words by the uncritical acceptance of assertions in place of explanations, the use of rhetorical style, etc
  3. a statement lacking real content, esp a cliché
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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