as in rambling
using or containing more words than necessary to express an idea
his long-winded explanation could have been boiled down to two sentences
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Recent Examples of long-winded
Jake heard the news in the break room at work and almost immediately began a long-winded email to Tom.
—
Olivia Krupp, Vanity Fair, 19 Mar. 2026
The only certainty in these films is that the self-righteous Optimus Prime will always preach some long-winded, sleep-inducing monologue at the end of the movie before a radio-friendly Linkin Park or Imagine Dragons song blares over the credits.
—Sergio Pereira, Space.com, 11 Mar. 2026
But, by heck, Tolkien does love a long-winded description.
—Big Think, 11 Mar. 2026
The film features numerous long-winded monologues, including one delivered by Tracy that astounded Shatner on set.
—Wesley Stenzel, Entertainment Weekly, 22 Feb. 2026
Trump, of course, was rude, untruthful, and excessively, if not quite so egregiously, long-winded in his first term, too.
—Susan B. Glasser, New Yorker, 22 Jan. 2026
As part of a long-winded court case related to conditions on Rikers, Manhattan Federal Judge Laura Swain has ordered that a receiver — who would oversee the DOC commissioner — should take over control of the notoriously dangerous jail complex.
—Josephine Stratman, New York Daily News, 6 Jan. 2026
Fallujah, Xenotaph Crushing, tuneful and proggy, but never exactly long-winded, Xenotaph, the sixth full-length from San Francisco death-metal outfit Fallujah, is a wonder of balance and precision.
—Craig Jenkins, Vulture, 2 Dec. 2025
Jane perches on the corner of a kitchen chair, replying succinctly to Luna’s long-winded questions as she’s offered an open box of Ritz, a can of Easy Cheese and a bag of Cheetos in rapid succession.
—Elizabeth B. Kim, Cincinnati Enquirer, 7 Nov. 2025
Olivia Krupp, Vanity Fair, 19 Mar. 2026
The only certainty in these films is that the self-righteous Optimus Prime will always preach some long-winded, sleep-inducing monologue at the end of the movie before a radio-friendly Linkin Park or Imagine Dragons song blares over the credits.
—Sergio Pereira, Space.com, 11 Mar. 2026
But, by heck, Tolkien does love a long-winded description.
—Big Think, 11 Mar. 2026
The film features numerous long-winded monologues, including one delivered by Tracy that astounded Shatner on set.
—Wesley Stenzel, Entertainment Weekly, 22 Feb. 2026
Trump, of course, was rude, untruthful, and excessively, if not quite so egregiously, long-winded in his first term, too.
—Susan B. Glasser, New Yorker, 22 Jan. 2026
As part of a long-winded court case related to conditions on Rikers, Manhattan Federal Judge Laura Swain has ordered that a receiver — who would oversee the DOC commissioner — should take over control of the notoriously dangerous jail complex.
—Josephine Stratman, New York Daily News, 6 Jan. 2026
Fallujah, Xenotaph Crushing, tuneful and proggy, but never exactly long-winded, Xenotaph, the sixth full-length from San Francisco death-metal outfit Fallujah, is a wonder of balance and precision.
—Craig Jenkins, Vulture, 2 Dec. 2025
Jane perches on the corner of a kitchen chair, replying succinctly to Luna’s long-winded questions as she’s offered an open box of Ritz, a can of Easy Cheese and a bag of Cheetos in rapid succession.
—Elizabeth B. Kim, Cincinnati Enquirer, 7 Nov. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for long-winded
rambling
Adjective
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The book displays a gift for confident, if rambling, storytelling, and the details pile up convincingly.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
19 Mar. 2026
-
Turan lives in a co-op called Base Camp, a rambling four-story Victorian that houses 14 other tech workers who spend their days at OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google’s DeepMind.—
Joe Hagan,
Vanity Fair,
18 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Long-winded.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/long-winded. Accessed 26 Mar. 2026.
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