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
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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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
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
Noun
-
Leadership teams that are ready for change treat ambiguity as part of the job.
-
The report released last year from the Office of Performance Evaluations found the money’s use wasn’t addressed in state law, which led to inconsistencies and ambiguity on what it can be used for.
Noun
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For each exercise, aim for two to three sets of 8-12 repetitions, two to three times per week on non-consecutive days.
-
If the change introduces a new logic or compliance requirement, expect a longer runway, repetition and coaching in the flow of work.
Noun
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Theology studies programs are among the biggest to shift from professional to non-professional degrees in the shuffle, subjecting theology students to a lower student loan limit.
-
His goal celebration, a sideline shuffle after Jonathan David scored the first of a hat-trick against Qatar, quickly went viral, racking up millions of social media views.
Noun
-
Flatulent describes inflated, pretentious writing; garrulity describes excessive talkativeness.
Noun
-
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.
-
Despite some equivocation after Game 3 regarding his Game 4 starter, Ducks coach Joel Quenneville told reporters Saturday that Lukáš Dostál would return to the Ducks’ net Sunday after being pulled Friday.
Noun
-
His verbosity has become a point of contention.
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Clarity In the AI era, verbosity is free and clarity is expensive.
Noun
-
Transformers, diffusion models, state space models and mixture-of-experts are not interchangeable.
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Other people emphasize the rules and regulations slowing down diffusion and stymieing change.
Noun
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Just as the limitless space of web text tempts writers to indulge their logorrhea, the blinking, ever-transmuting, cartoonish interface of web browsers prevents would-be readers from paying attention to anything for longer than about 7 seconds.
-
Nor has Musk kept his Twitter logorrhea in check in other respects.
Cite this Entry
“Circumlocution.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/circumlocution. Accessed 7 Jul. 2026.
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