verbosity

American  

[ver-bos-i-tee] / vərˈbɒs ɪ ti /

noun

1. the state or quality of being verbose; superfluity of words; wordiness.

   His speeches were always marred by verbosity.

   Synonyms:

   turgidity, redundancy, prolixity

   Antonyms:

   pithiness, terseness

---

Other Word Forms

• nonverbosity
  noun

Etymology

Origin of verbosity

From the Late Latin word verbōsitās, dating back to 1535–45. See verbose, -ity

Explanation

Verbosity is a quality possessed by people who talk a lot while saying very little at all. The root verb — also seen in verbal — is a clue this word has to do with talking. Specifically, verbosity is the quality of gabbing and blabbing at length. That might sound like a talent, and it sort of is, but usually the words are a bit empty. You could be accused of verbosity if you like to exaggerate or wax poetic. Most of the time, verbosity is empty talk — a whole lot of nothing dressed up in too many words.

Example Sentences

Bronner inherited his verbosity and gumption from his grandfather, Emanuel Bronner, who originally crammed all-caps, feel-good credos onto the labels of his soap bottles in the 1940s.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 9, 2026

Section 53.49 of the Los Angeles Municipal Code is a classic of lawyerly syntax and needless verbosity.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 12, 2023

It will also let developers decide their AI's style of tone and verbosity.

From Reuters • Mar. 15, 2023

“These days I wear my body like an uninvited guest,” she sings on the verse, her fleet-footed verbosity conveying a sense of itchy anxiety.

From New York Times • Oct. 21, 2022

This abundance, in truth, appears to the reader not wholly ignorant of the subject to be cognate to verbosity.

From The Age of Tennyson by Walker, Hugh