periphrase
The use of more words than are necessary to express the ideaThe use of more words than are necessary to express the idea; a roundabout, or indirect, way of speaking; circumlocution.
Meaning
1 senses(countable, rhetoric, uncountable)The use of more words than are necessary to express the idea; a roundabout, or indirect, way of speaking; circumlocution.
Origin
From Latin periphrasis from Ancient Greek περίφρασις (períphrasis), from περιφράζομαι (perFrom Latin periphrasis from Ancient Greek περίφρασις (períphrasis), from περιφράζομαι (periphrázomai, “to consider all sides of an issue”), from περί (perí, “around”) + φράζω (phrázō, “to show, point out”). See phrase.
Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · source
Forms
plural: periphrases| Singular | periphrase |
|---|---|
| Plural | periphrases |
regular
Synonyms
1 synonymsWord family
1 related wordsLessons for this word
1 lessons- A1Countable and uncountable nouns — Because it can be uncountable
See also
neighbours in the dictionaryDictionary text adapted from Wiktionary (Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0) and Open English WordNet / Princeton WordNet (CC BY 4.0, WordNet License); shared under CC BY-SA 4.0. Example sentences and recordings are credited where they appear.