circumlocution

[ sur-kuhm-loh-kyoo-shuhn ]

noun

1. a roundabout or indirect way of speaking; the use of more words than necessary to express an idea.

   Synonyms: prolixity, verbosity, rambling

2. a roundabout expression.

circumlocution

/ -trɪ; ˌsɜːkəmləˈkjuːʃən; ˌsɜːkəmˈlɒkjʊtərɪ /

noun

1. an indirect way of expressing something
2. an indirect expression

circumlocution

1. Roundabout speech or writing: “The driveway was not unlike that military training device known as an obstacle course” is a circumlocution for “The driveway resembled an obstacle course.” Circumlocution comes from Latin words meaning “speaking around.”

Derived Forms

• circumlocutory, adjective

Other Words From

• cir·cum·loc·u·to·ry [sur-k, uh, m-, lok, -y, uh, -tawr-ee, -tohr-ee], circum·lo·cution·al circum·lo·cution·ary adjective
• uncir·cum·locu·tory adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of circumlocution¹

1375–1425; late Middle English < Latin circumlocūtiōn- (stem of circumlocūtiō ). See circum-, locution

Example Sentences

Such are the distractions of “Amsterdam,” whose curlicues and circumlocutions are genuinely interesting but grow more self-conscious and indulgent with time.

From Washington Post

The convoluted syntax, multiple negatives, indefinite antecedents, and masterful circumlocutions of this statement defy comprehension.

From Literature

Bush, famously, is a gaffe specialist, the purveyor of scrambled-hash syntax, madcap circumlocutions, spoonerisms and other “Bushisms” that have haunted the internet — or as Bush would have it, internets — for decades.

From New York Times

Beneath the malapropisms and the circumlocutions, though, Palin turned out to have a shrewder feel for Republican voters than those in the press who scorned her, and who underestimated him.

From New York Times

“You’re now a beautiful, strong flower, who must protect your delicate petals and clean them regularly,” she adds, in one of the film’s more hilarious examples of motherly misunderstanding and circumlocution.

From Washington Post