What Is Circumlocution? | Definition & Examples
Circumlocution is the use of more words than necessary to express an idea. Instead of saying something directly in a single word or phrase, we often choose a roundabout way of referring to it. Depending on the context of use, circumlocution can be evasive and confusing or a helpful communication strategy.
We can encounter circumlocution in various communication settings, including literature, bureaucratic language, or when we want to be polite.
What is circumlocution?
Circumlocution (also known as periphrasis) is an indirect way of writing or speaking. The word “circumlocution” comes from the Latin prefix “circum-,” which means “around,” and “locutio,” meaning “speech.”
In essence, it is a way of talking around a topic by using many words to describe something that already has a common and concise term. For example, “the person responsible for enforcing the rules and maintaining order in a sports match” is a circumlocution for “referee.”
Circumlocution can have a negative connotation because it is often used as evasive language, digression, or to obscure the real meaning. However, in other contexts, it may be necessary and effective. For example, dictionaries employ circumlocution to define words. In general, circumlocution means a wordy substitution and is the opposite of conciseness.
Why do we use circumlocution?
Circumlocution has various uses and purposes. For example:
- As figurative language. In both poetry and prose, writers may use circumlocution for literary effect. Poets of the 18th-century tried to avoid commonplace words and used two-word phrases instead of a single noun, a type of circumlocution known as kenning. In Robert Blair’s poem The Grave, for instance, a telescope is “the sight-invigorating tube.”
- As evasive language. In politics, circumlocution is often employed as a tactic to avoid addressing the core issue. Government officials, for example, may resort to discussing general principles or the historical context of a problem instead of providing a clear response to journalists. However, this disingenuous form of communication can be annoying or confusing for the audience.
- As a euphemism. Circumlocution is used to avoid discussing unpleasant or taboo topics directly. For example, instead of “got fired” one might say “experienced involuntary career transition.”
- To cover gaps in vocabulary. Beginner or intermediate speakers of a second language often resort to circumlocution when they do not know or remember a specific word or phrase. For example, one may describe an ambulance as “a vehicle that is specially equipped to transport people who are sick or injured to the hospital.” In a similar vein, circumlocution is often used by people with aphasia, a neurological disorder, when they have difficulty recalling or retrieving a word.
Overall, people use circumlocution intentionally or unintentionally, either in a deceptive manner, such as when they are trying to avoid the truth, or in a non-deceptive manner (e.g., when they cannot remember a certain word).
Circumlocution examples
Circumlocution is frequently used as a literary device to imply or hint at something rather than stating it directly.
In the following lines from Shakespeare’s Hamlet (Act 1, Scene 3), Laertes urges his sister Ophelia to stay away from Hamlet and avoid jeopardizing her honor. He employs circumlocution to convey the idea of Ophelia surrendering her innocence to Hamlet’s advances to soften the explicitness of the advice.
If with too credent ear you list his songs,
Or lose your heart, or your chaste treasure open
To his unmastered importunity.
Domain-specific or technical words that people might not be familiar with can be replaced by circumlocutions to make them more understandable to a broader audience.
Similarly, a term like “externalities” in economics, can be explained to general audiences with a circumlocution such as “unintended consequences of economic activities.”
In many cultures, people avoid directly mentioning death due to superstitions or to soften the impact of their words, using circumlocutions to construct euphemisms instead.
“Kicked the bucket”
“Sleeping with the fishes”
“Left this world”
“Met their maker”
Frequently asked questions about circumlocution
- What are some synonyms for circumlocution?
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The words “wordiness,” “redundancy,” “indirectness,” “verbiage,” and the idiom “beating around the bush” are synonyms for circumlocution. They all point to an excessive and unnecessary use of words to describe something.
The QuillBot Paraphraser can help you find more alternatives for “circumlocution.”
- What is an example of circumlocution?
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An example of circumlocution is the phrase “twice five miles of fertile ground” in Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s poem “Kubla Khan.” Instead of “ten miles,” Coleridge uses more words to create imagery through a poetic expression.
- How to use circumlocution in a sentence?
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“Circumlocution” functions as a noun in sentences. Here are some examples:
- “The politician’s circumlocution frustrated the audience, who wanted direct answers.”
- “Rather than providing a clear response, the witness employed careful circumlocution to avoid incriminating the defendant.”
- “Despite the CEO’s circumlocution, employees understood that plans for a ‘strategic reallignment’ meant layoffs would soon occur throughout the organization.”
