periphrases

Noun

periphrases noun

1. The use of more words than are necessary to express the idea; a roundabout, or indirect, way of speaking; circumlocution.

periphrases noun

1. The use of a longer expression instead of a shorter one with a similar meaning, for example "I am going to" instead of "I will".
2. Expressing a grammatical meaning (such as a tense) using a syntactic construction rather than morphological marking.“Language learners sometimes use periphrases like "did go" where a native speaker would use "went".”
3. The substitution of a descriptive word or phrase for a proper name (a species of circumlocution).
4. The use of a proper name as a shorthand to stand for qualities associated with it.

Verb

periphrases verb

1. To express by periphrase or circumlocution.
2. To use circumlocution.