euphuism
an affected style in imitation of that of Lyly, fashionable in England about the end of the 16th century, characterized chiefly by long series of antitheses and frequent similes relating to mythological natural history, and alliteration.: Compare Euphues.
any similar ornate style of writing or speaking; high-flown, periphrastic language.
Origin of euphuism
1Other words from euphuism
- eu·phu·ist, noun
- eu·phu·is·tic, eu·phu·is·ti·cal, adjective
- eu·phu·is·ti·cal·ly, adverb
Words that may be confused with euphuism
- euphemism, euphuism
Words Nearby euphuism
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use euphuism in a sentence
There is more than a touch of euphuism in Stevenson; he was never insincere, but he was consciously fine.
Essays on Modern Novelists | William Lyon PhelpsMuch euphuism, much studied grace of manner, much formal assertion of scholarship, mingling with his force of imagination.
It was not the matter of Euphues, however, so much as the style which made it famous (see euphuism).
euphuism owes to him its name and its diffusion in England; but not, although it is usually so stated, its birth.
The English Novel in the Time of Shakespeare | J. J. JusserandCynthia's Revels has the same defects, but is to some extent saved by its sharp raillery of euphuism.
A History of English Literature | George Saintsbury
British Dictionary definitions for euphuism
/ (ˈjuːfjuːˌɪzəm) /
an artificial prose style of the Elizabethan period, marked by extreme use of antithesis, alliteration, and extended similes and allusions
any stylish affectation in speech or writing, esp a rhetorical device or expression
Origin of euphuism
1Derived forms of euphuism
- euphuist, noun
- euphuistic or euphuistical, adjective
- euphuistically, adverb
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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