verbiage

American  

[vur-bee-ij] / ˈvɜr bi ɪdʒ /

noun

1. overabundance or superfluity of words, as in writing or speech; wordiness; verbosity.

2. manner or style of expressing something in words; wording.

   a manual of official verbiage.

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verbiage British  

/ ˈvɜːbɪɪdʒ /

noun

1. the excessive and often meaningless use of words; verbosity

2. rare diction; wording

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Etymology

Origin of verbiage

First recorded in 1715–25; from French, from Middle French verbi(er) “to gabble” (also guerbloier, verboier, werbler, with a change in spelling by association with verbe “word,” from Germanic; verb, warble ¹ ( def. ) ) + -age -age

Explanation

Verbiage is what it sounds like — a lot of words: verbs, nouns, adjectives and all the other parts of speech. Usually, verbiage means a few too many words — like the excessive verbiage in a legal document. Verbiage comes from the 18th-century French verbier, meaning "to chatter." Verbiage can mean just the words being used to communicate, or a bunch of empty words used to obscure communication. Someone long-winded might receive a sarcastic "compliment" about his verbiage, while another speaker might receive genuine applause for intelligent verbiage, or choice of words.

Example Sentences

So little of Mr. Carlson’s recent verbiage bears scrutiny that I’m left to wonder what it’s all about.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 20, 2025

In a devastating scene, she lets him down about potentially starting a spa with him, using the same verbiage that Tanya used with her in Season 1.

From Salon • Apr. 7, 2025

From her arrest to her execution, something about Barbara Graham inspired frenzied verbiage from the journalists of the era.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 26, 2025

"It's more the voters within the party and the verbiage around human sexuality and gender."

From BBC • Oct. 14, 2024

That tedious paragraph was filled with metadiscourse—verbiage about verbiage, such as subsection, review, and discussion.

From "The Sense of Style" by Steven Pinker