Circumlocution is a large deſcription either to ſette forth a thyng more gorgiouſlie, or els to hyde it, if the eares cannot beare the open ſpeakyng: or when with fewe woordes we cannot open our meanyng, to ſpeake it more largely.
Source: wiktionary
Circumlocution
/ˌsɜːkəmləˈkjuːʃən/
Synonyms for "circumlocution" (90 found)
Ranked by relevance and common usage.
Closest matches (18)
Strong matches (27)
circumnavigationcircumvolutionconvolutioncrinklecrinklingdeviancedeviancydeviationdeviousnessdigressionexcursionexcursusfigure of speechflexuosityflexuousnessgobbledegookgyregyringindirectionintorsion
Show 3 more words
Noun(4 words)
Related words (45)
Choosing the right synonym
- Closest matches in this entry: periphrasis, ambage, ambages, ambages, anfractuosity.
- Sentence evidence is available for circumlocution, so synonym choice can be checked against real usage rather than a flat word list.
- Ranking signals come from wiktionary, wordnet, opengloss, moby, and related lexical sources.
Synonym selection checklist
- Match the part of speech before comparing meanings.
- Check whether the synonym changes intensity, formality, or emotional tone.
- Read the replacement inside the full sentence, not just beside "circumlocution".
- Prefer the clearest word over the most unusual word when writing for speed or comprehension.
When not to replace "circumlocution"
Keep "circumlocution" when the sentence already sounds natural, when a synonym would add unintended emphasis, or when readers need the most familiar wording. A synonym should clarify or sharpen the message, not simply make the sentence look more varied.
If two options seem close, choose the one that best matches the audience and purpose of the sentence.
Replacement workflow
1. Preserve meaning
Choose a synonym only if it keeps the core idea of "circumlocution" intact in the sentence you are editing.
2. Tune tone
Check whether the replacement sounds more formal, casual, emotional, technical, or forceful than the original word.
3. Re-read context
Read the full sentence after the swap. Keep the synonym only when the sentence becomes clearer or more precise.
Review note: Synonym lists are ranked with lexical data and reviewed for practical writing value. Use the comparison notes, sentence evidence, and source labels together; a high-ranking synonym can still be wrong when the audience, register, or grammar changes.
Final fit check
After choosing a replacement for "circumlocution", read the sentence once for meaning and once for rhythm. The best synonym should feel natural in the full sentence, not only accurate in a word list.
If the synonym makes the sentence slower, vaguer, or more dramatic than intended, keep "circumlocution" or choose a simpler alternative from the closest-match group.
Related word relations
OpenGloss and ConceptNet supply richer edges like generalizations, collocations, and derivations.
More general
7 entriesMore specific
5 entriescircumstantial speechevasive phrasinglegal circumlocutionornate proseroundabout description
Collocations
6 entriescircumlocutory languageevasive phrasinglinguistic redundancyroundabout phrasingverbose descriptionwordy expression
Inflections
1 entriesDerivations
3 entriesTranslations
25 translations across 12 languages.
Bulgarian
2 entries- заобикалки noun (roundabout or indirect way of speaking)
- увъртане noun (roundabout or indirect way of speaking)
Finnish
3 entries- jaarittelu noun (roundabout or indirect way of speaking)
- kiertely noun (roundabout or indirect way of speaking)
- pyörittely noun (roundabout or indirect way of speaking)
French
2 entries- circonlocution noun (roundabout or indirect way of speaking)
- périphrase noun (roundabout or indirect way of speaking)
German
1 entries- Umschweife noun (roundabout or indirect way of speaking)
Greek
2 entries- περίφραση noun (roundabout or indirect way of speaking)
- πολυλογία noun (roundabout or indirect way of speaking)
Hungarian
2 entries- kertelés noun (roundabout or indirect way of speaking)
- köntörfalazás noun (roundabout or indirect way of speaking)
Italian
2 entries- giro di parole noun (roundabout or indirect way of speaking)
- perifrasi noun (roundabout or indirect way of speaking)
Persian
2 entries- اطناب noun (roundabout or indirect way of speaking)
- درازگویی noun (roundabout or indirect way of speaking)
Portuguese
2 entries- circunlocução noun (roundabout or indirect way of speaking)
- circunlóquio noun (roundabout or indirect way of speaking)
Spanish
4 entries- ambages noun (roundabout or indirect way of speaking)
- circunlocución noun (roundabout or indirect way of speaking)
- circunloquio noun (roundabout or indirect way of speaking)
- rodeos noun (roundabout or indirect way of speaking)
Swedish
1 entries- omsvep noun (roundabout or indirect way of speaking)
Vietnamese
2 entries- giải ngữ noun (roundabout or indirect way of speaking)
- ngữ giải thích noun (roundabout or indirect way of speaking)
Sample sentences
5 total sentences available.
His Majeſty leaves the choice to your ſelf, and requires from you a direct Anſwer without circumlocution or bargaining with him […]
Source: wiktionary
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).
Source: wiktionary
It may seem quite straightforward to render line 15 metrically regular by means of a grammatical trick: "the style as bright as soul". However, the stylistic feature of the adjectival compound does not occur in isolation but is employed again in the following line, "dem Staubfaden himmelswüst", where a grammatical circumlocution in translation would be metrically disadvantageous. Both compounds, "seelenhell" as well as "himmelswüst", should therefore be translated as compounds. When Michael Hamburger remarks that German "lends itself to the formation of compound words in a way that English does not" (in Celan 1988: 24), he probably refers to nouns such as "Türspalt" or "Algenteilchen".
Source: wiktionary
Showing 4 of 5 available sentences.
Common questions
What are the closest synonyms for "circumlocution"?
Closest matches include periphrasis, ambage, ambages, ambages, anfractuosity.
How should I check whether a synonym fits "circumlocution"?
Compare the replacement against real sentence context. This entry includes sample sentences so you can check tone, grammar, and meaning before swapping words.