circumlocution

Estimated CEFR level: C2 — Proficiency

Estimated from word frequency; not an official CEFR classification.

Definition

  1. noun a style that involves indirect ways of expressing things
  2. noun an indirect way of expressing something

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”).

In classic literature

Synonyms

periphrasis, ambage

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