as in repetition
the use of too many words to express an idea
congressional hearings into the Watergate scandal were marked by an orgy of periphrasis, the expression "at this point in time" being a memorable example
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for periphrasis
Noun
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And through this mind-numbing repetition, Harbaugh achieves his goal.—
Daniel Popper,
New York Times,
22 Sep. 2025 -
Elements inspired by Constantin Brâncusi’s Endless Column appear throughout, emphasizing Blahnik’s interest in geometry and repetition — qualities echoed in the design of his pointed heels.—
Maggie Clancy,
Footwear News,
21 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Then there’s Peg, who arrives in a bomb-diffusion suit and sets down a ticking bomb.—
Ali Barthwell,
Vulture,
25 Sep. 2025
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In 2024, Chinese researchers at Tianjin University reported 80 percent higher volumetric power density compared to state-of-the-art PEM fuel cell stacks (at the time) by eliminating gas diffusion layers entirely.—
Tejasri Gururaj,
Interesting Engineering,
25 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Their circumlocutions were as entrancing as their ability to find the most precisely ironic words for difficult-to-name realities.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
8 July 2025
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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
Noun
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Flatulent describes inflated, pretentious writing; garrulity describes excessive talkativeness.—
Gary Gilson,
Star Tribune,
31 Oct. 2020
Noun
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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
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The truth is, there is rarely a Merritt Wever or an Adrien Brody in awards speeches—extreme cases of brevity or verbosity that stun both those in the room and at home.—
Shirley Li,
The Atlantic,
15 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Remaining on stage with gracious verbalism, Batiste first acknowledged the nominees.—
Allison Hazel,
Essence,
9 June 2021
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.—
Barton Swaim,
WSJ,
19 Sep. 2022
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Nor has Musk kept his Twitter logorrhea in check in other respects.—
Michael Hiltzik,
Los Angeles Times,
28 Apr. 2022
Noun
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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
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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
“Periphrasis.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/periphrasis. Accessed 2 Oct. 2025.
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