Example Sentences

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Recent Examples of circumlocution 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 By condensing Balzac’s opus to a few paragraphs, Barthelme was having a laugh not just at his predecessor’s genteel circumlocution—his tendency to describe buildings and manufacturing procedures and family trees in lavish detail—but also at the conventions of novelistic mimesis itself. Giles Harvey, The New York Review of Books, 23 Apr. 2020 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 Although incredibly popular, with 60% approval ratings, Ahok was considered by many to be a divisive figure, by virtue both of his minority status and of his bluntness, which ran counter to Javanese traditions of deference and circumlocution. The Economist, 12 Apr. 2018 Mungiu, like many Romanian directors, has a sadistic streak for circumlocution. Jordan Hoffman, VanityFair.com, 6 Apr. 2017
Recent Examples of Synonyms for circumlocution
Noun
  • With a multigenerational workforce and increasingly younger workforce seeking transparency, consider creating cultures where ambiguity is discussed openly, not masked with false certainty.
    Arthi Rabikrisson, Forbes.com, 18 June 2025
  • Lynch opened up a whole new space where ambiguity wasn’t just tolerated — it was embraced.
    Ben Croll, Variety, 12 June 2025
Noun
  • From shooting mechanics and footwork to decision-making and off-ball movement, their game is shaped by repetition and efficiency rather than flair.
    Tim Genske, Forbes.com, 18 June 2025
  • These are foods that ground us in heritage, identity and repetition.
    Renan Botelho, Footwear News, 18 June 2025
Noun
  • Foreign exchange markets and businesses are likely to get caught up in the shuffle, especially if travelers reprioritize to a great degree.
    Rahim Madhavji, Forbes.com, 10 June 2025
  • Siri’s upgrades were also rather subtle, which resulted in an executive shuffle.
    Chloe Albanesius, PC Magazine, 9 June 2025
Noun
  • Now, no public voice is permitted much equivocation.
    Ginia Bellafante, New York Times, 16 May 2025
  • The equivocation over the ground invasion reflects Mr. Netanyahu’s need to satisfy far-right cabinet ministers, who are pushing for the full re-occupation of Gaza, and Israel’s top generals, who believe such a move would be difficult to sustain and dangerous to hostages held in Gaza.
    Patrick Kingsley, New York Times, 19 May 2025
Noun
  • But Sieh is the standout, emitting a complex blend of sardonic acceptance, cynical verbosity and submerged emotional longing.
    Chris Jones, Chicago Tribune, 14 May 2025
  • Coogler can let his characters’ verbosity get the better of story momentum.
    Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune, 15 Apr. 2025
Noun
  • And there’d be no diffusion and none of that in Buffalo, for example.
    Mark Hughes, Forbes.com, 30 May 2025
  • Like other modern video generation models, Veo 3 is built on diffusion technology—the same approach that powers image generators like Stable Diffusion and Flux.
    ArsTechnica, ArsTechnica, 29 May 2025
Noun
  • 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.
    Barton Swaim, WSJ, 19 Sep. 2022
  • Nor has Musk kept his Twitter logorrhea in check in other respects.
    Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times, 28 Apr. 2022
Noun
  • On their website, the three yellow stripes are prominently featured on the website under the Black Lives Matter wordage, and used on their social media accounts.
    Amritpal Kaur Sandhu-Longoria, USA TODAY, 29 Mar. 2023
  • Reached by the Union-Tribune Wednesday morning, Lindsey differed with McGillis’ wordage.
    Don Norcross, San Diego Union-Tribune, 22 Mar. 2023

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Cite this Entry

“Circumlocution.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/circumlocution. Accessed 27 Jun. 2025.

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