circumlocution | Definition of circumlocution

Synonyms and Antonyms of circumlocution

1 deliberate evasion in speech

rather than answering the question directly, he resorted to circumlocution, which made her suspect that he was hiding something

Synonyms of circumlocution

equivocation, shuffle, tergiversation

Words Related to circumlocution

ambiguity, ambiguousness, equivocalness, murkiness, nebulousness, obscureness, obscurity, opacity

Near Antonyms of circumlocution

candor, directness, forthrightness, frankness, openheartedness, openness, plainness, plumpness, straightforwardness

2 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

Synonyms of circumlocution

diffuseness, diffusion, garrulity, garrulousness, logorrhea, long-windedness, periphrasis, prolixity, redundancy, verbalism, verbiage, verboseness, verbosity, windiness, wordage, wordiness

Words Related to circumlocution

circuitousness, circularity, digressiveness

pleonasm, tautology

reiteration, repetition, repetitiousness, repetitiveness

embellishment, embroidering, exaggeration, hyperbole, overstatement

Near Antonyms of circumlocution

brevity, briefness, compactness, conciseness, concision, crispness, pithiness, succinctness, terseness