periphrase means the use of more words than are necessary to express the idea; a roundabout, or indirect, way of speaking; circumlocution. It carries an Arena rating of 1764, earned across 226 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, periphrase ranks #630 of 17,151 for The Improbable, #928 of 17,143 for Best Fossil-Poetry Words, #1,236 of 17,128 for Most Ponderous Words, #3,010 of 17,134 for Most Malleable Words.
periphrase is pronounced /ˈpɛɹi.fɹeɪz/.
Why “periphrase” is a great word
PERIPHRASE — [Noun] The use of more words than are necessary to express an idea, typically through indirect or roundabout expression; circumlocution. From 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"). Unlike "pleonasm," which denotes blunt verbal redundancy (e.g., "free gift"), or "euphemism," a tactical softening of a blunt truth, periphrase is the stylistic act of deliberate circumlocution. It is the bureaucrat's "at this point in time" for "now," the poet's "the finny tribe" for "fish," or the diplomat's labyrinthine clause that arrives, winded, at a foregone conclusion—a testament to language's instinct to pad the world with syllables, drawing a protective circle around a truth too sharp or too plain to be grasped directly.
Etymology
From 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.
noun
- The use of more words than are necessary to express the idea; a roundabout, or indirect, way of speaking; circumlocution.e.g.“1821, Thomas De Quincey, John Paul Frederick Richter (published in London Magazine
To describe all those on whom the fates of Troy hinged , by enigmatic periphrases”
verb
- To express by periphrase or circumlocution.
- To use circumlocution.
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
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