2 uses
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Definition
an unnecessarily wordy (or possibly evasive, or indirect) way of saying something
- I had made use of many circumlocutions in describing to him the nature of the several crimes for which most of our crew had been forced to fly their country.Part 4 — A Voyage to the Country of the Houyhnms (30% in)
- It put me to the pains of many circumlocutions, to give my master a right idea of what I spoke; for their language does not abound in variety of words, because their wants and passions are fewer than among us.Part 4 — A Voyage to the Country of the Houyhnms (26% in)
There are no more uses of "circumlocution" in Gulliver's Travels.
Typical Usage
(best examples)