as in rambling
using or containing more words than necessary to express an idea
had to wade through a verbose letter of complaint
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in wordiness
the use of too many words to express an idea
your ideas are good, but your penchant for verbosity is unfortunate
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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.
Recent Examples of verbose
Globe Staff, BostonGlobe.com, 25 Jan. 2023
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
Chris Jones, Chicago Tribune, 14 May 2025
Crisp articulation of ideas trumps verbosity, fostering a culture that treasures originality and respect for the reader’s time.
—Cornelia C. Walther, Forbes, 24 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for verbose
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
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
Noun
But Sieh is the standout, emitting a complex blend of sardonic acceptance, cynical verbosity and submerged emotional longing.
—Chris Jones, Chicago Tribune, 14 May 2025
Crisp articulation of ideas trumps verbosity, fostering a culture that treasures originality and respect for the reader’s time.
—Cornelia C. Walther, Forbes, 24 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for verbose
Recent Examples of Synonyms for verbose
Adjective
-
Instead, DeSantis unleashed a rambling recap of the past seven years, with plenty of unsourced statistics, claims of victory that aren’t supported by reality, and wording often designed to obfuscate the most controversial parts of his tenure.—
Orlando Sentinel Editorial Board,
The Orlando Sentinel,
14 Jan. 2026
-
Day trips to Amalfi-style Taormina are well-advised for those who have yet to gawp at its clifftop panoramas across the Mediterranean or its film star hotels, as are jaunts to the rambling flea markets and splendidly scruffy trattorias of nearby Catania.—
Rosalyn Wikeley,
Condé Nast Traveler,
10 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
Lopez describes her daughter as an energetic, talkative child who speaks both English and Spanish.—
Leondra Head,
CBS News,
8 Jan. 2026
-
Then, like now, people were very talkative.—
Gisela Salim-Peyer,
The Atlantic,
6 Jan. 2026
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
Noun
-
Over time, increase the repetitions using light weights, then gradually progress to heavier loads, Forsyth recommended.—
Allison Forsyth,
Health,
14 Jan. 2026
-
Some apps, like Duolingo, use spaced repetition, but don’t always provide authentic cultural context, which is important for learning intuitively, said Sauer.—
The New York Times News Service Syndicate,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
13 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
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
-
Clearly, this was a bit wordy, so this became ‘parking the bus’, which initially found popularity as an insult for unambitious football, then later was used in a more neutral manner to mean deep defending.—
Michael Cox,
New York Times,
14 Dec. 2025
Noun
-
The repetitiveness of the plot is not helped by the many montages writer-director Yandy Laurens uses as shortcuts, instead of writing scenes that show how the central relationship is developing.—
Murtada Elfadl,
Variety,
15 Dec. 2025
Noun
-
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
-
Nor has Musk kept his Twitter logorrhea in check in other respects.—
Michael Hiltzik,
Los Angeles Times,
28 Apr. 2022
Noun
-
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
-
Reached by the Union-Tribune Wednesday morning, Lindsey differed with McGillis’ wordage.—
Don Norcross,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
22 Mar. 2023
Cite this Entry
“Verbose.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/verbose. Accessed 19 Jan. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
