All circumlocutory synonyms
cir·cum·lo·cu·tion
C c adj circumlocutory
- indirect — not in a direct course or path; deviating from a straight line; roundabout: an indirect course in sailing.
- ambiguous — If you describe something as ambiguous, you mean that it is unclear or confusing because it can be understood in more than one way.
- tortuous — full of twists, turns, or bends; twisting, winding, or crooked: a tortuous path.
- oblique — neither perpendicular nor parallel to a given line or surface; slanting; sloping.
- incidental — happening or likely to happen in an unplanned or subordinate conjunction with something else.
- implied — involved, indicated, or suggested without being directly or explicitly stated; tacitly understood: an implied rebuke; an implied compliment.
- ancillary — The ancillary workers in an institution are the people such as cleaners and cooks whose work supports the main work of the institution.
- circuitous — A circuitous route is long and complicated rather than simple and direct.
- backhanded — A backhanded compliment is a remark which seems to be an insult but could also be understood as a compliment. A backhanded compliment is also a remark which seems to be a compliment but could also be understood as an insult.
- rambling — aimlessly wandering.
- meandering — to proceed by or take a winding or indirect course: The stream meandered through the valley.
- loose — free or released from fastening or attachment: a loose end.
- long — having considerable linear extent in space: a long distance; a long handle.
- lavish — expended, bestowed, or occurring in profusion: lavish spending.
- dull — not sharp; blunt: a dull knife.
- waffling — to talk foolishly or without purpose; idle away time talking.
- collateral — Collateral is money or property which is used as a guarantee that someone will repay a loan.
- roundabout — circuitous or indirect, as a road, journey, method, statement or person.
- involved — very intricate or complex: an involved reply.
- loquacious — talking or tending to talk much or freely; talkative; chattering; babbling; garrulous: a loquacious dinner guest.
- magniloquent — speaking or expressed in a lofty or grandiose style; pompous; bombastic; boastful.
- repetitious — full of repetition, especially unnecessary and tedious repetition: a repetitious account of their vacation trip.
- repetitive — pertaining to or characterized by repetition.
- rhetorical — used for, belonging to, or concerned with mere style or effect.
- talkative — inclined to talk a great deal: One drink and she became very talkative.
- tautological — needless repetition of an idea, especially in words other than those of the immediate context, without imparting additional force or clearness, as in “widow woman.”.
- tedious — event: dull
- pleonastic — the use of more words than are necessary to express an idea; redundancy.
- talky — having or containing superfluous or purposeless talk, conversation, or dialogue, especially so as to impede action or progress: a talky play that bored the audience.
- tautologous — needless repetition of an idea, especially in words other than those of the immediate context, without imparting additional force or clearness, as in “widow woman.”.
- yacking — to talk, especially uninterruptedly and idly; gab; chatter: They've been yakking on the phone for over an hour.
- copious — A copious amount of something is a large amount of it.
- digressive — tending to digress; departing from the main subject.
- discursive — passing aimlessly from one subject to another; digressive; rambling.
- lengthy — having or being of great length; very long: a lengthy journey.
- long-winded — talking or writing at tedious length: long-winded after-dinner speakers.
- profuse — spending or giving freely and in large amount, often to excess; extravagant (often followed by in): profuse praise.
- prolix — extended to great, unnecessary, or tedious length; long and wordy.
- random — proceeding, made, or occurring without definite aim, reason, or pattern: the random selection of numbers.
- redundant — characterized by verbosity or unnecessary repetition in expressing ideas; prolix: a redundant style.
- vague — not clearly or explicitly stated or expressed: vague promises.
- verbose — characterized by the use of many or too many words; wordy: a verbose report.
- windy — accompanied or characterized by wind: a windy day.
- diffusive — tending to diffuse; characterized by diffusion.
- palaverous — a conference or discussion.
- circular — Something that is circular is shaped like a circle.
- complicated — If you say that something is complicated, you mean it has so many parts or aspects that it is difficult to understand or deal with.
- contingent — A contingent of police, soldiers, or military vehicles is a group of them.
adjective circumlocutory
- convoluted — If you describe a sentence, idea, or system as convoluted, you mean that it is complicated and difficult to understand.
- wordy — characterized by or given to the use of many, or too many, words; verbose: She grew impatient at his wordy reply.