as in rambling
using or containing more words than necessary to express an idea
a person known for habitually transforming brief anecdotes into prolix sagas that exhaust their listeners
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Recent Examples of prolix
Words, including those of artists themselves—as prolix in their way as critics, curators, and historians—can serve vision but can also deflect from it.
—
Barry Schwabsky, ARTnews.com, 3 Sep. 2019
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
The album is a concise, 10-song set, a deliberate contrast to prolix streaming-era albums like the ones released lately by Taylor Swift and Beyoncé.
—Jon Pareles, New York Times, 17 May 2024
A certain type of actor thrives in these prolix circumstances.
—Los Angeles Times, 12 Oct. 2021
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
Most books and essays published these days are too long: gummed up with adjectives and pointless asides, laden with prolix displays of expertise.
—Barton Swaim, WSJ, 19 Sep. 2022
There’s a hypnotic quality to this freewheeling central section, a sustained charge that falters in some of the more prolix passages around it.
—David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter, 1 Sep. 2022
Ames’s ruminations on the soul are prolix, philosophical, and profoundly sad.
—Hermione Lee, The New York Review of Books, 22 Oct. 2020
Barry Schwabsky, ARTnews.com, 3 Sep. 2019
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
The album is a concise, 10-song set, a deliberate contrast to prolix streaming-era albums like the ones released lately by Taylor Swift and Beyoncé.
—Jon Pareles, New York Times, 17 May 2024
A certain type of actor thrives in these prolix circumstances.
—Los Angeles Times, 12 Oct. 2021
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
Most books and essays published these days are too long: gummed up with adjectives and pointless asides, laden with prolix displays of expertise.
—Barton Swaim, WSJ, 19 Sep. 2022
There’s a hypnotic quality to this freewheeling central section, a sustained charge that falters in some of the more prolix passages around it.
—David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter, 1 Sep. 2022
Ames’s ruminations on the soul are prolix, philosophical, and profoundly sad.
—Hermione Lee, The New York Review of Books, 22 Oct. 2020
Recent Examples of Synonyms for prolix
Adjective
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Refine your key points to be clear and concise—no rambling monologues.—
Expert Panel®,
Forbes.com,
15 Apr. 2025
-
In the early morning hours of Dec. 26, 1996, Patsy Ramsey called 911 to report her 6-year-old daughter JonBenét missing, and found a rambling ransom note left inside their Boulder, Colorado, home.—
Erin Moriarty,
CBS News,
20 Dec. 2024
Adjective
-
There were also happier times, including winning the FA Cup in 2014 and 2015 and two Community Shield trophies, with an extremely talkative Arteta alongside him in midfield.—
Dermot Corrigan,
The Athletic,
16 Jan. 2025
-
Finney-Smith has become one of the team’s most talkative players and a consistent source of energy.—
Dan Woike,
Los Angeles Times,
13 Mar. 2025
Adjective
-
The lawmaker said that the usable speech only came after four or five prompts that generated unusable material, either too verbose or oddly phrased, an illustration of how important the input into the AI is to the result.—
Globe Staff,
BostonGlobe.com,
25 Jan. 2023
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The verbose coach was at somewhat of a loss for words, opting to forgo opening remarks in his postgame press conference and instead diving right into questions.—
Tom Green | tgreen@al.com,
al,
18 Jan. 2023
Adjective
-
In the clip, Harris gave a wordy answer when asked about Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.—
Thomas G. Moukawsher,
MSNBC Newsweek,
14 Apr. 2025
-
Though some critics at the time were exasperated by having to read such a big, wordy book, The Times selected it as one of the best books of the year.—
Carolyn Kellogg,
Los Angeles Times,
14 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Prolix.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/prolix. Accessed 5 May. 2025.
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