as in rambling
using or containing more words than necessary to express an idea
the studio's statement that "the film's earnings did not live up to expectations" was a circumlocutory admission that the movie was a flop
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for circumlocutory
Adjective
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The final part is a rather rambling segment philosophizing on proof of the afterlife—in line with dozens of similar texts from this era of psychical research.—
Alice Vernon
September 8,
Literary Hub,
8 Sep. 2025 -
The videos, which depict handwritten journals and a display of high-powered weaponry, paint a portrait of a person with a rambling and deeply nihilistic outlook, according to analyses by law enforcement and ABC News.—
Megan Forrester,
ABC News,
27 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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In 1949, a young American artist named Ray Johnson left Black Mountain College near Asheville, N.C., moved to New York City and began to explore his prolix talents, both visual and verbal.—
Roberta Smith,
New York Times,
30 May 2024
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His answer is this book: a laudably sincere, exasperatingly prolix and occasionally affecting rumination on the state of Egypt—its society, culture, history and politics—pegged to the maddening bureaucracy of the archive.—
Kapil Komireddi,
WSJ,
12 Mar. 2023
Adjective
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Harjo understands better than all but a few of his star’s previous collaborators how to weaponize Hawke’s gift for playing talkative dirtbags who are equal parts insufferable and charming.—
Alan Sepinwall,
Rolling Stone,
4 Sep. 2025
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That of course was not unusual, but what was unusual was how talkative this man had been.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
8 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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Quaid, who portrayed the imposing Cousin Eddie in the movie, said that Chase had trouble memorizing his dialogue while filming a particularly verbose breakdown scene near the climax of the film.—
Wesley Stenzel,
EW.com,
31 Aug. 2025
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But Schwarber's teammate, Nick Castellanos — who joined the Phillies on a $100 million deal after playing for two seasons with the Reds — was more verbose about Schwarber potentially joining his hometown team.—
Peter Chawaga,
MSNBC Newsweek,
12 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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Since the movie features an exaggerated take on real-life dating shows, what was your experience like filming a reality show within a movie?—
Carly Thomas,
HollywoodReporter,
12 Sep. 2025
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But are those exaggerated reactions innate or learned?—
New Atlas,
New Atlas,
11 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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The enchanted satnav system directs Sarah and David to various doors dotted along their circuitous route toward healing.—
Richard Lawson,
HollywoodReporter,
16 Sep. 2025
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That inspired me to walk off lunch by taking a circuitous stroll down to the docks in search of a water taxi.—
Denny Lee,
Travel + Leisure,
9 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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Anders is also very wordy, and subtitles can only capture maybe 30 percent of it.—
Scott Roxborough,
HollywoodReporter,
8 Sep. 2025
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For example, the AI maker might tell the AI to always respond succinctly and not be overly wordy.—
Lance Eliot,
Forbes.com,
1 Aug. 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Circumlocutory.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/circumlocutory. Accessed 17 Sep. 2025.
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