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Glite Dictionary
ambages

ambages

9.9
Indirect ways of speaking or acting that hide the true meaning
  • noun
  • /æmˈbeɪdʒɪz/
  • Archaic
translation icon : ambages
  • The politician spoke in such ambages that no one understood his true intentions.

Examples

  • Tired of legal ambages, the witness demanded a straightforward answer.

  • Victorian authors sometimes delighted in the ambages of diplomatic conversation.

  • The monk spoke in such ambages that his true intentions were never revealed.

  • His speech was filled with ambages!

  • The politician spoke in such ambages that no one understood his true intentions.

  • Tired of legal ambages, the witness demanded a straightforward answer.

  • Victorian authors sometimes delighted in the ambages of diplomatic conversation.

Synonyms

ambage
vsambages
  • Archaic
9.9

Long, indirect speech that avoids a direct answer

is the archaic plural form used for indirect speech and actions and puzzling methods

Antonyms

clarity
152 3.0

How easy it is to understand what someone says or writes

directness
6 3.4

Honest, clear words and actions that say exactly what you mean

How Indirect

obfuscation
  • Formal
12 8.7
ambages
  • Archaic
9.9
evasion
12 6.6

Surface Forms

ambages singular
ambages plural

Etymology

Ambages comes from Latin parts ambi- 'around' and agere 'to go', so it originally meant 'going around' or a winding path. You can see the same 'around' idea in English words like ambience, and that's why ambages means roundabout, indirect speech.