From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishcircumlocutioncir‧cum‧lo‧cu‧tion /ˌsɜːkəmləˈkjuːʃən $ ˌsɜːr-/ noun [countable, uncountable] formal ALthe practice of using too many words to express an idea, instead of saying it directly —circumlocutory /ˌsɜːkəmˈlɒkjʊtəri/ adjective a circumlocutory reply
Examples from the Corpus
circumlocution• Shakespeare's narration has an excess of artifice and circumlocution.• The Shakespearean illusions, the pose of madness and threat unraveling in chilling circumlocution.• Approximate synonyms, or else circumlocutions, are chosen to fill the gap.• The whole thing was so oblique, so fiendish in its circumlocutions, that he did not want to accept it.• He had an aversion for proper names, employing instead a number of poetic circumlocutions.• They both knew, of course, that Hal was hearing every word, but they could not help these polite circumlocutions.• It takes a long time to say a little, because of all those circumlocutions.• But whatever circumlocutions are conferred upon him, Simon would appear to be rather more obtrusive than some translators might wish. 