Circumlocution
Last Updated: January 2, 2026 at 12:30 PM
Scrabble:22 ptsWWF:30 pts14 letters
Definition of Circumlocution
Noun
- 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)."
- 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)."
- An instance of such usage; a roundabout expression, whether an inadvisable one or a necessary one.
Anagrams of Circumlocution
Words You Can Make
50 words can be made from the letters in "circumlocution":
9-LETTER WORDS
7-LETTER WORDS
+1 Letter Anagrams
Words formed by adding one letter to "circumlocution" and rearranging: