verbose
Americanadjective
adjective
Related Words
See bombastic.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of verbose
1665–75; < Latin verbōsus, equivalent to verb ( um ) word + -ōsus -ose 1
Explanation
If you're verbose, you use far more words than you need to. A verbose book report goes on and on and is packed with long, complicated words that aren't at all necessary. If a friend asks, "Did you have fun at the party?" you can simply answer, "No." Or you can provide a verbose reply that describes just how much you hated the party, who was and wasn't there, the fact that you got lost on the way, the terrible food that was served, and the awful music that was played. Verbose is from Latin verbosus, "full of words," from verbum, "word or verb." As you can guess from the spelling, the English verb is closely related.
Vocabulary lists containing verbose
100 Words to Make You Sound Smart
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100 SAT Words Beginning with "V"
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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.
“Dancing on the Ceiling” does the opposite, starting with very verbose Art Tatum-style arpeggios in the verse but then mellowing out in the chorus, and quoting “All This and Heaven Too.”
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 29, 2026
She has used verbose phrases when speaking off the cuff, and while a few turns of phrase have been embraced by her supporters, opponents have often criticised her for a lack of clarity.
From BBC • Aug. 30, 2024
He’s a very quiet, gentle man and not super verbose, but then suddenly he’ll come up with a lot to say.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 20, 2024
He served as Senator Ted Cruz’s chief of staff and in many ways mirrors his former boss’s pugnacious and verbose style.
From New York Times • May 31, 2023
So though it looks like a polar opposite of the speech that went before it—Everett verbose and ornate where Lincoln was clipped; Everett concrete where Lincoln was abstract—it is a modification rather than a rebuke.
From "Words Like Loaded Pistols" by Sam Leith
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.
