noun ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun

1. 1
   Evasive or ambiguous language; circumlocution. countable, in-plural, literary, often, uncountable

   "Puttenham, Art of Poesie without any long studie or tedious ambage"

2. 2
   a style that involves indirect ways of expressing things wordnet
3. 3
   An indirect or obscure path. countable, in-plural, literary, often, uncountable

Synonyms

All synonyms

circumlocutioncircumlocutionperiphrasis

Example

More examples

"Puttenham, Art of Poesie without any long studie or tedious ambage"

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English ambages, from French ambage as well as its etymon Latin ambāgēs (“a roundabout or circuitous path”).

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.