adj · 2 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
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Received-Pronunciation:/sɜː.kəm.ləʊˈkjuː.tə.ɹi/
General-American:/sɝ.kəm.loʊˈkjuː.tɚ.i/
US:Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
1
adj
Meaning 1
Characterised by circumlocution; overly wordy
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Examples
1727, Jonathan Swift (attributed), Martinus Scriblerus, or the Art of Sinking In Poetry Periphrase is another great aid to prolixity; being a diffused circumlocutory manner of expressing a known idea, which should be so mysteriously couched, as to give the reader the pleasure of guessing what it is, that the author can possibly mean; and a strange surprise, when he finds it.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: periphrastic, verbose
Antonyms: none provided
2
adjective satellite
Meaning 2
roundabout and unnecessarily wordy-T.S.Eliot; (`ambagious' is archaic)
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
Examples
had a preference for circumlocutious (or circumlocutory) rather than forthright expression
A periphrastic study in a worn-out poetical fashion,/ Leaving one still with the intolerable wrestle/ With words and meanings.
