Synonyms of wordy

wordy

adjective

ˈwər-dē 

1

as in rambling

using or containing more words than necessary to express an idea

her writing style is far too wordy for my tastes

Synonyms & Similar Words

• rambling
• talkative
• prolix
• verbose
• exaggerated
• long-winded
• communicative
• circuitous
• redundant
• pleonastic
• diffuse
• conversational
• garrulous
• circumlocutory
• windy
• logorrheic
• talky
• loquacious
• repetitious
• voluble
• chatty
• periphrastic
• tautological
• tautologous
• bombastic
• gabby
• gaseous
• grandiloquent
• gassy
• embroidered
• embellished
• highfalutin

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• concise
• succinct
• pithy
• terse
• brief
• short
• compact
• crisp
• summary
• epigrammatic
• abbreviated
• sententious
• condensed
• aphoristic
• blunt
• abridged
• abrupt
• laconic
• curt
• brusque
• compendious
• shortened
• snippy

2

as in verbal

of or relating to words or language

the neighborhood dispute escalated into a wordy war conducted through angry letters to the editor in the local paper

Synonyms & Similar Words

• verbal
• linguistic
• communicative
• rhetorical
• lexical
• vocabular
• conversational

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• nonverbal
• nonlinguistic
• nonlexical

Synonym Chooser

How does the adjective wordy differ from other similar words?

Some common synonyms of wordy are diffuse, prolix, and verbose. While all these words mean "using more words than necessary to express thought," wordy may also imply loquaciousness or garrulity.

a wordy speech

When would diffuse be a good substitute for wordy?

The synonyms diffuse and wordy are sometimes interchangeable, but diffuse stresses lack of compactness and pointedness of style.

diffuse memoirs that are so many shaggy-dog stories

When is it sensible to use prolix instead of wordy?

The words prolix and wordy are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, prolix suggests unreasonable and tedious dwelling on details.

habitually transformed brief anecdotes into prolix sagas

When can verbose be used instead of wordy?

While in some cases nearly identical to wordy, verbose suggests a resulting dullness, obscurity, or lack of incisiveness or precision.

the verbose position papers

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of wordy

John Fantasia, who was playing Uncle Jack, stumbled over a wordy bit of dialogue. —Michael Schulman, New Yorker, 2 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

Max went back to its original name, HBO Max, while Paramount+ renamed its wordy Paramount+ With Showtime tier to Paramount+ Premium. —PC Magazine, 14 Oct. 2025

Anders is also very wordy, and subtitles can only capture maybe 30 percent of it. —Scott Roxborough, HollywoodReporter, 8 Sep. 2025