periphrastic

Definition of periphrasticnext

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for periphrastic
Adjective
  • 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
  • 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
  • The steering has a natural, connected feel that's not artificially weighted, but is genuinely communicative.
    New Atlas, New Atlas, 7 Feb. 2026
  • This is an unusual position for an exponent of the public sphere and communicative rationality to take.
    Sean Williams, Harpers Magazine, 27 Jan. 2026
Adjective
  • This is a wordier way of explaining the obvious downstream effects of paying for better players.
    Grant Brisbee, New York Times, 4 Feb. 2026
  • With Payton and Nix, in particular, part of the rationale was to get some of Payton’s most wordy calls on the band so the coach could give short-hand to Nix, creating a couple of extra seconds for the quarterback to spit out a call that might be15 or 20 words long.
    Parker Gabriel, Denver Post, 7 Jan. 2026
Adjective
  • But Dreher has been giving voice to the yearnings and frustrations of religious conservatives for many years—as a magazine blogger with more than 1 million pageviews a month, an author of best-selling books, and a deliriously verbose writer on Substack.
    Robert F. Worth, The Atlantic, 13 Feb. 2026
  • Instead, Reeves became Estragon, the more simplistic and long-suffering of the duo, while Winter tackled Vladimir, the more commanding and verbose character.
    Brent Lang, Variety, 1 Oct. 2025
Adjective
  • In today’s relatively cold and diffuse universe, quarks have settled down to sedate lives within their protonic and neutronic homes.
    Joseph Howlett, Scientific American, 6 Feb. 2026
  • The affordability gain is small, diffuse, and uncertain, but the economic distortions are real and cumulative.
    Josh Appel, Washington Post, 5 Feb. 2026
Adjective
  • Shipments on the circuitous route are increasing.
    Bloomberg, Mercury News, 16 Feb. 2026
  • Shipments on the circuitous route are increasing.
    Will Kubzansky, Fortune, 15 Feb. 2026
Adjective
  • In court, Tillman was upbeat and talkative with his federal public defender, Varell Fuller, prior to making his guilty plea.
    Robert Salonga, Mercury News, 9 Feb. 2026
  • Loud, funny and talkative, The Big Bopper merged radio and rock stardom and became a larger-than-life entity with a true theatrical presence.
    Chris Barilla, PEOPLE, 3 Feb. 2026
Adjective
  • Keery’s loquacious doormat of a storage employee falls for his coworker (Campbell) who is not only super smart but resourceful.
    Randy Myers, Mercury News, 12 Feb. 2026
  • Prolific and intellectually restless, Greenberg was in many ways the loquacious American version of the late Tom Stoppard, and in turn a significant influence on such Chicago writers as Tracy Letts.
    Chris Jones, Chicago Tribune, 5 Feb. 2026
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.

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Cite this Entry

“Periphrastic.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/periphrastic. Accessed 21 Feb. 2026.

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