verbiage

verbiage

noun

Definition of VERBIAGE

1

the use of too many words to express an idea <teachers loathe the verbiage that students resort to in order to pad a paper>

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

Related Words circuitousness, circularity, digressiveness; pleonasm, tautology; reiteration, repetition, repetitiousness, repetitiveness; embellishment, embroidering, exaggeration, hyperbole, overstatement

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

2

language that is impressive-sounding but not meaningful or sincere <the pretentious verbiage that one finds in the reviews of self-important art critics>

Synonyms bombast, fustian, gas, grandiloquence, hot air, oratory, verbiage, wind

Related Words claptrap, drivel, gibberish, hogwash, humbug, jabberwocky, jazz, moonshine, nonsense; affectedness, floweriness, grandiosity, loftiness, pomposity, pretension, pretentiousness; garrulity, garrulousness, verboseness, verbosity, windiness, wordiness

3

the way in which something is put into words <as per the standard verbiage of military reports, the assault was launched at “0700 hours”>

Synonyms diction, language, phraseology, phrasing, verbiage

Related Words expression, formulation, locution; enunciation, phrase, speech, style, utterance, voice