Definition of "circumlocution" [cir•cum•lo•cu•tion]

• The use of unnecessarily wordy and indirect language. (noun)
• Evasion in speech or writing. (noun)
• A roundabout expression. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "It comes to the same thing, no doubt, but the circumlocution is significant."
• "Another unnecessary use of words and phrases is that which is termed circumlocution, a going around the bush when there is no occasion for it, -- save to fill space."
• "His circumlocution was a suave way of stating that he had done all that could be expected of a neighbor and benevolent friend, and that the ordinary relation of broker and customer ought now be established."