circumlocution

noun

ˌsər-kəm-lō-ˈkyü-shən How to pronounce circumlocution (audio)
Definition of circumlocutionnext
1
as in ambiguity
deliberate evasion in speech rather than answering the question directly, he resorted to circumlocution, which made her suspect that he was hiding something

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2
as in repetition
the use of too many words to express an idea your papers have to be five pages long, but that's five pages of substance, not circumlocution

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of circumlocution But in terms of its actual content, the statement was pretty thin gruel, bristling with public relations-style circumlocution and vagueness. — Business Columnist, Los Angeles Times, 27 Jan. 2026 Here, instead, she’s swayed by a dead Diana softly squeezing her hand and kindly hinting — the dead Diana is an ace at tactful circumlocution — that now is the time to show a mourning nation some emotion. — Tom Gliatto, Peoplemag, 16 Nov. 2023 This year, House Republicans unveiled a new Conservative Climate Caucus that, in a fascinating circumlocution, sort of recognizes that fossil fuels are causing the planet to warm. — Robinson Meyer, The Atlantic, 2 Nov. 2022 Powell’s statement yesterday (September 22) is the masterpiece of its type, building upon fifteen months of this playful circumlocution, downshifting into bureaucratic blandness. — George Calhoun, Forbes, 23 Sep. 2021 But the national crisis in policing and the response to it isn’t a matter of arid elite debate or familiar political circumlocution and compromise anymore. — David Roth, The New Republic, 11 June 2020 These circumlocutions are meant to emphasize the fact that Africans traded like chattel were not, in their essence, slaves but human beings. — Lionel Shriver, Harper's magazine, 25 Nov. 2019
Recent Examples of Synonyms for circumlocution
  1. ambiguity
  2. repetition
  3. shuffle
  4. wordiness
  5. equivocation
  6. garrulity
  7. verbosity
  8. diffusion
Noun
  • As is the case with all of OTC’s previous music, part of the charm is its swirling ambiguity, but this time there’s additional poignance in the backstory.
    — Patrick Lyons, Pitchfork, 29 Oct. 2026
  • Nothing was stable, every framework was being rebuilt in real time and the only thing that separated functional teams from struggling ones was behavioral reliability under extreme ambiguity.
    — Amy Alexy, Forbes.com, 26 Oct. 2026
Definition of ambiguity
Noun
  • The beauty of the record lies in how these loops slowly diffract over their runtime, becoming subtly reformed over each repetition.
    — Henry Ivry, Pitchfork, 30 Oct. 2026
  • For first-time voter and U-M Dearborn freshman Xander Thomson, the repetition is having the opposite effect.
    — Elaine Rojas-Castillo, CBS News, 27 Oct. 2026
Definition of repetition
Noun
  • Longtime collaborator Erik Blood foregrounds Butler’s dry drum machines in the mix, letting every other element shuffle around them, snaking toward the spotlight for a brief moment and retreating back into the brume.
    — Dash Lewis, Pitchfork, 23 Oct. 2026
  • The power and shuffle/no shuffle switches were also separated into separate controls.
    — Eric Griffith, PC Magazine, 23 Oct. 2026
Definition of shuffle
Noun
  • Others speak of letting go and moving on, hinting at ideological skirmishes between nihilism and existentialism which aren’t quite allowed to emerge from beneath the film’s oppressive wordiness until late into its runtime.
    — Siddhant Adlakha, IndieWire, 8 Sep. 2026
Definition of wordiness
Noun
  • Others have expressed their equivocation about nirvana less ominously.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 11 Aug. 2026
  • The people around Trump support these equivocations because anyone who opposes Trump’s ideas in the White House will be shown the door; any Republican who speaks up in Congress will be primaried out of their seat.
    — Tom Nichols, The Atlantic, 19 May 2026
Definition of equivocation
Noun
  • Flatulent describes inflated, pretentious writing; garrulity describes excessive talkativeness.
    — Gary Gilson, Star Tribune, 31 Oct. 2020
Definition of garrulity
Noun
  • His verbosity has become a point of contention.
    — R. Eric Thomas, Chicago Tribune, 29 June 2026
  • Clarity In the AI era, verbosity is free and clarity is expensive.
    — Ankur Shah, Forbes.com, 18 June 2026
Definition of verbosity
Noun
  • Advertisement China itself offers the greatest modern demonstration of what technological diffusion can accomplish.
    — Keyu Jin, Time, 23 Oct. 2026
  • Whereas the commercial version of this strategy ends in universal diffusion at a monopolist’s price, the imperial version ends in the metropole deciding who gets what.
    — NIALL FERGUSON, Foreign Affairs, 20 Oct. 2026
Definition of diffusion

Browse Nearby Words

circumjacent
circumlocution
circumlocutory
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Cite this Entry

“Circumlocution.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/circumlocution. Accessed 30 Oct. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on circumlocution

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about circumlocution

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