Standard Lemma guide

circumlocution

noun · 6 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • Received-Pronunciation: /ˌsɜːkəmləˈkjuːʃən/
  • Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • General-American: /ˌsɝkəmləˈkjuʃən/
  • rhymes with -uːʃən

1

noun

Meaning 1

A roundabout or indirect way of speaking; thus

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

A roundabout or indirect way of speaking; thus:

Unnecessary use of extra words to express an idea, such as a pleonastic phrase (sometimes driven by an attempt at emphatic clarity) or a wordy substitution (the latter driven by euphemistic intent, pedagogic intent, or sometimes loquaciousness alone).

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

noun

Meaning 3

A roundabout or indirect way of speaking; thus:

Necessary use of a phrase to circumvent either a vocabulary fault (of speaker or listener) or a lexical gap, either monolingually or in translation.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: uncountable

Examples

  • A technical word, such as hyperkalemia or hypoallergenic, can be glossed for general audiences with a circumlocution, such as "high potassium level" or "less likely to cause allergies" (respectively).

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

4

noun

Meaning 4

An instance of such usage; a roundabout expression, whether an inadvisable one or a necessary one.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

5

noun

Meaning 5

an indirect way of expressing something

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: indirect expression

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: evasion, equivocation

6

noun

Meaning 6

a style that involves indirect ways of expressing things

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: periphrasis, ambage

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: verboseness, verbosity

History

Etymology

From Latin circumlocūtiō (“the act of speaking around; circumlocution, periphrasis”). By surface analysis, circum- (“around”) + locution (“talk”), thus "getting around (a problem) in speaking or writing". Probably a calque of Ancient Greek περίφρασις (períphrasis, “periphrasis”).

Across languages

Translations

42 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Bulgarian: увъртане (uvǎrtane) — roundabout or indirect way of speaking
  • Bulgarian: заобикалки (zaobikalki) — roundabout or indirect way of speaking
  • Finnish: kiertely — roundabout or indirect way of speaking
  • Finnish: jaarittelu — roundabout or indirect way of speaking
  • Finnish: pyörittely — roundabout or indirect way of speaking
  • French: périphrase — roundabout or indirect way of speaking
  • French: circonlocution — roundabout or indirect way of speaking
  • German: Umschweife — roundabout or indirect way of speaking
  • Greek: περίφραση (perífrasi) — roundabout or indirect way of speaking
  • Greek: πολυλογία (polylogía) — roundabout or indirect way of speaking
  • Hungarian: köntörfalazás — roundabout or indirect way of speaking
  • Hungarian: kertelés — roundabout or indirect way of speaking
  • Italian: giro di parole — roundabout or indirect way of speaking
  • Italian: perifrasi — roundabout or indirect way of speaking
  • Norwegian: omsvøp — roundabout or indirect way of speaking
  • Persian: اطناب (etnâb) — roundabout or indirect way of speaking
  • Persian: درازگویی (derâz-guyi) — roundabout or indirect way of speaking
  • Polish: oględna wypowiedź — roundabout or indirect way of speaking
  • Portuguese: circunlocução — roundabout or indirect way of speaking
  • Portuguese: circunlóquio — roundabout or indirect way of speaking
  • Spanish: circunlocución — roundabout or indirect way of speaking
  • Spanish: rodeos — roundabout or indirect way of speaking
  • Spanish: ambages — roundabout or indirect way of speaking
  • Spanish: circunloquio — roundabout or indirect way of speaking
  • Swedish: omsvep — roundabout or indirect way of speaking
  • Vietnamese: giải ngữ — roundabout or indirect way of speaking
  • Vietnamese: ngữ giải thích — roundabout or indirect way of speaking
  • Bulgarian: иносказание (inoskazanie) — roundabout expression
  • Czech: opis — roundabout expression
  • Finnish: kiertoilmaus — roundabout expression
  • Greek: περίφραση (perífrasi) — roundabout expression
  • Hungarian: körülírás — roundabout expression
  • Italian: circonlocuzione — roundabout expression
  • Latin: circumlocūtiō — roundabout expression
  • Polish: oględna wypowiedź — roundabout expression
  • Portuguese: circunlocução — roundabout expression
  • Portuguese: circunlóquio — roundabout expression
  • Spanish: circunlocución — roundabout expression
  • Swedish: omskrivning — roundabout expression
  • Vietnamese: giải ngữ — roundabout expression
  • Vietnamese: ngữ giải thích — roundabout expression
  • Welsh: cylchymadrodd — roundabout expression