1
Core meaning
An indirect, roundabout, and often needlessly wordy way of expressing something, especially to avoid a direct statement.
Example
The witness used circumlocution to avoid answering directly.
circumlocution
/ˌsɜːkəmləˈkjuːʃən/ · sur-kum-loh-KYOO-shunnoun
An indirect, roundabout, and often needlessly wordy way of expressing something, especially to avoid a direct statement.
Use circumlocution to express this relationship precisely: an indirect, roundabout, and often needlessly wordy way of expressing something, especially to avoid a direct statement.
What circumlocution Really Means
The word becomes easier to use when its closely related senses are separated and compared.
2
Common noun frame
Use this noun in a complete noun phrase, adding the complement that identifies what it refers to when needed.
Example
Legal circumlocution obscured a simple requirement.
3
Analytical distinction
Choose it when this exact concept matters; a related term may describe its cause, evidence, or opposite instead.
Example
Her prose is elaborate without descending into circumlocution.
Use circumlocution Naturally
Notice how the surrounding noun or clause reveals the exact shade of meaning.
The witness used circumlocution to avoid answering directly.
Legal circumlocution obscured a simple requirement.
Her prose is elaborate without descending into circumlocution.
Precision Matters
Circumlocution overlaps with several common words, but each carries a different emphasis.
circumlocution
vs.Means an indirect, roundabout, and often needlessly wordy way of expressing something, especially to avoid a direct statement.
verbose
Means using or containing more words than are necessary to express an idea.
circumlocution
vs.Means an indirect, roundabout, and often needlessly wordy way of expressing something, especially to avoid a direct statement.
succinct
Means brief, clear, and expressed without unnecessary words.
circumlocution
vs.Means an indirect, roundabout, and often needlessly wordy way of expressing something, especially to avoid a direct statement.
explicit
Means stated directly and with complete clarity.
circumlocution
vs.Means an indirect, roundabout, and often needlessly wordy way of expressing something, especially to avoid a direct statement.
obfuscate
Means make an idea, issue, or statement unclear, confusing, or difficult to understand.
Test circumlocution in Context
The response is wordy, indirect, and evasive rather than direct.
1
Asked whether the project had failed, the minister offered five minutes of ___ without ever saying yes or no.