Circumlocution

Last Updated: January 2, 2026 at 12:30 PM

Scrabble:22 ptsWWF:30 pts14 letters

Definition of Circumlocution

Noun

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

    "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)."

  2. 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).
  3. Necessary use of a phrase to circumvent either a vocabulary fault (of speaker or listener) or a lexical gap, either monolingually or in translation.

    "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)."

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

Anagrams of Circumlocution

+1 Letter Anagrams

Words formed by adding one letter to "circumlocution" and rearranging:

Circumlocution - Definition, Anagrams & Scrabble Score | AnagramSolver.com