Circumlocutious (Adjective)
Meaning
Roundabout and unnecessarily wordy; "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."-T.S.Eliot; (`ambagious' is archaic).
Classification
All adjective clusters.
Examples
- The professor's circumlocutious explanation of the complex theory left many students confused and frustrated.
- Her circumlocutious response to the question made it difficult to discern her true intentions.
- The politician's circumlocutious speech was criticized for lacking clarity and directness.
- The writer's circumlocutious style, while poetic, often obscured the meaning of the text.
- The lawyer's circumlocutious argument was seen as an attempt to evade the real issue at hand.