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circumlocutionary

 - 3 dictionary results

cir⋅cum⋅lo⋅cu⋅tion

  [sur-kuhm-loh-kyoo-shuhn]
Use circumlocutionary in a Sentence
–noun
1. a roundabout or indirect way of speaking; the use of more words than necessary to express an idea.
2. a roundabout expression.
Origin:
1375–1425; late ME < L circumlocūtiōn- (s. of circumlocūtiō). See circum-, locution

Related forms:
cir⋅cum⋅loc⋅u⋅to⋅ry  [sur-kuhm-lok-yuh-tawr-ee, -tohr-ee] , cir⋅cum⋅lo⋅cu⋅tion⋅al, cir⋅cum⋅lo⋅cu⋅tion⋅ar⋅y, adjective

Synonyms:
1. rambling, meandering, verbosity, prolixity.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Cultural Dictionary

circumlocution [(sur-kuhm-loh-kyooh-shuhn)]

Roundabout speech or writing: “The driveway was not unlike that military training device known as an obstacle course” is a circumlocution for “The driveway resembled an obstacle course.” Circumlocution comes from Latin words meaning “speaking around.”

The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

circumlocution 
c.1510, from L. circumlocutionem (a loan-translation of Gk. periphrasis) "speaking around" (the topic), from circum- "around" + locutionem (nom. locutio) "a speaking," from stem of loqui "to speak."
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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