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
Relevance
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
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
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
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
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
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
-
The text is not without ambiguity.—
Cass Sunstein,
Big Think,
5 Mar. 2026
-
The magic act of Okri’s writing is his ability to maintain ambiguity while always keeping his language limpid and direct.—
The New Yorker,
New Yorker,
4 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
No choice, no road, no hope— only the endless repetition of the sordid and the semi-tragic.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
3 Mar. 2026
-
All forms of strength training can help, but heavier lifting at lower repetitions is most effective.—
Adam Cohen,
Oklahoman,
3 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
In a further shuffle in January, Christian Vesper stepped down as Fremantle’s CEO of Global Drama and Film after a decade in the job.—
Scott Roxborough,
HollywoodReporter,
5 Mar. 2026
-
The Peacemakers’ first decade saw several lineup shuffles, but the group has been steady since Dalton joined in 2009.—
Josh Crutchmer,
Rolling Stone,
5 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
Today, many states stipulate that gestational surrogates have no parental rights—any equivocation on this matter would cause the country’s reproductive-tourism industry to collapse.—
Ava Kofman,
New Yorker,
9 Feb. 2026
-
Americans have been roped even further into this dark, tragic story because of the president’s bizarre equivocation and emotional outbursts about it.—
Kaitlyn Tiffany,
The Atlantic,
31 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
Flatulent describes inflated, pretentious writing; garrulity describes excessive talkativeness.—
Gary Gilson,
Star Tribune,
31 Oct. 2020
Noun
-
The previous record-holder was President Clinton, famously known for his Southern-twang verbosity.—
Seema Mehta,
Los Angeles Times,
25 Feb. 2026
-
This working prompt injection came only after much trial and error, explaining the verbosity and the detail in it.—
Dan Goodin,
ArsTechnica,
18 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
Technological diffusion has historically followed an S-curve, where early adoption is slow, accelerates as costs fall, and eventually plateaus as saturation sets in and marginal returns diminish.—
Nick Lichtenberg,
Fortune,
26 Feb. 2026
-
For those concerned about sensitivity, passive scent methods such as reed diffusers, including options from B’s Knees, Nest or Hotel Collection, and cold-air diffusion systems like those from Aroma360 offer lighter ways to fragrance a space.—
Allison Hatfield,
Dallas Morning News,
25 Feb. 2026
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
Cite this Entry
“Circumlocution.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/circumlocution. Accessed 11 Mar. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
