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

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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

The previous record-holder was President Clinton, famously known for his Southern-twang verbosity.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 25, 2026

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

From Reuters • Mar. 15, 2023

Or perhaps it's a matter of the principal characters having less dialogue, although the verbosity of Bob Odenkirk's con man has ramped up in recent episodes as his various personalities messily squish together.

From Salon • Aug. 9, 2022

"He draweth out the thread of his verbosity, finer than the staple of his argument."

From The Sword of Damocles A Story of New York Life by Green, Anna Katharine