Definitions for "Circumlocution" Add To Word List
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The use of many words to express an idea that might be expressed by few; indirect or roundabout language; a periphrase.
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A roundabout, indirect or lengthy way of speaking.
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indirect way of expressing something. Circumlocution is used when one does not know a specific word and may speak "around it" to get the message across.
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The use of an indirect phrase to replace a 'missing' word: the speaker may have forgotten the word, or not know it - e.g. children, foreign language learners.
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a roundabout or circuitous expression: e.g., in a family way for pregnant; at this point in time for now.
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a style that involves indirect ways of expressing things
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an indirect way of expressing something
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Use of other words to describe a specific word or idea which cannot be remembered.
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Evasion in speech of a word which should not be pronounced; the pronounceable word itself. In Hebrew culture, the ineffable (unpronounceable) name of God was often replaced with the circumlocution Adonai.
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a "round-about" way of speaking. It is often used by an individual when that person cannot recall specific words they need to describe objects, activities, or events. (see nominal recall).
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Literally meaning ‘talking round' this describes a strategy that many people with aphasia employ when they experience word-finding difficulties, e.g. ‘an animal with a long neck - not a zebra for giraffe.
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an evasive type of speech in which several words are used to express an idea that could be said with a single word
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n. a long way of saying something; talking all around a subject without coming to the point.
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Circumlocution, like its Greek counterpart periphrasis, is a figure of speech where the meaning of a word or phrase is indirectly expressed through several or many words. (Periphrasis is of Greek origin [περίφρασις < peri (περί) "about, around" + phrasis (φράσις) "speech, expression"], while circumlocution is Latin—both meaning "a roundabout manner of speaking".)
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