verbiage
Americannoun
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overabundance or superfluity of words, as in writing or speech; wordiness; verbosity.
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manner or style of expressing something in words; wording.
a manual of official verbiage.
noun
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the excessive and often meaningless use of words; verbosity
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rare diction; wording
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
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.
Philosophy has always had to defend itself against the charge that it is empty verbiage, unscientific speculation.
From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 18, 2025
It’s one of those things where the verbiage that everyone uses is “attached.”
From Salon • Oct. 17, 2025
On game day, Verse encouraged and welcomed the colorful verbiage that came his way, and he recorded two of the Rams’ seven sacks in a 28-22 defeat.
From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 19, 2025
"It's more the voters within the party and the verbiage around human sexuality and gender."
From BBC • Oct. 14, 2024
Once again the bulk of the verbiage pushes in one direction while the content of the author’s argument pushes in the other.
From "The Sense of Style" by Steven Pinker
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.
