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wordy

 - 2 dictionary results

word⋅y

[wur-dee]
–adjective, word⋅i⋅er, word⋅i⋅est.
1. characterized by or given to the use of many, or too many, words; verbose: She grew impatient at his wordy reply.
2. pertaining to or consisting of words; verbal.

Origin:
bef. 1100; ME; OE wordig. See word, -y 1


word⋅i⋅ly, adverb
word⋅i⋅ness, noun


1. diffuse, talkative, loquacious, voluble. Wordy, prolix, redundant, pleonastic all mean using more words than necessary to convey a desired meaning. Wordy, the broadest and least specific of these terms, may, in addition to indicating an excess of words, suggest a garrulousness or loquaciousness: a wordy, gossipy account of a simple incident. Prolix refers to speech or writing extended to great and tedious length with inconsequential details: a prolix style that tells you more than you need or want to know. Redundant and pleonastic both refer to unnecessary repetition of language. Redundant has also a generalized sense of “excessive” or “no longer needed”: the dismissal of redundant employees. In describing language, it most often refers to overelaboration through the use of expressions that repeat the sense of other expressions in a passage: a redundant text crammed with amplifications of the obvious. Pleonastic, usually a technical term, refers most often to expressions that repeat something that has been said before: “A true fact” and “a free gift” are pleonastic expressions.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To wordy
word·y   (wûr'dē)   
adj.   word·i·er, word·i·est
  1. Relating to or consisting of words; verbal.

  2. Tending to use, using, or expressed in more words than are necessary to convey meaning.

word'i·ly adv., word'i·ness n.
Synonyms: These adjectives mean given to using or marked by the use of an excessive number of words: a wordy apology; a diffuse historical novel; a long-winded speaker; a prolix, tedious lecturer; verbose correspondence.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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