periphrastic
- adjective
- /ˌpɛrəˈfræstɪk/
- Literature
:
perifrástico
- All informants preferred the future indicative limitara but would also accept the periphrastic future va a limitar.
Examples
-
The professor criticized her students for using periphrastic phrases instead of more direct language.
-
The periphrastic, explanatory discourse has also been assumed by her.
Academic text (1996) -
It can take up to eight hours to reduce a human body to cremains (industry jargon, presumably periphrastic).
Fiction book (1996) -
Veerle Van Geenhoven (sec. 3.2) comments that since 7 does not refer to a habit, it is "misleading or wrong to think of the periphrastic form used to as a habitual aspect marker."
Academic text (2006) -
Usually they have found one or two relative clauses, several sentences with infinitives, many models, periphrastic models, compound tenses, and various complex sentences with adverbial and noun clauses.
Academic text (1990) -
In formal writing, avoiding periphrastic constructions can make arguments clearer and more persuasive.
-
His periphrastic explanation confused the audience, as they struggled to grasp his main point.
Synonyms
18
5.8
Saying or writing more words than needed and taking too long
8
3.7
Using more words than needed makes the meaning hard to understand
7
7.1
Using more words than needed in speech or writing
7
6.8
Using more words than needed when speaking or writing
1
9.5
Using too many words so it is hard to follow
To speak or write in a roundabout, wordy way that hides the main point
Using many words instead of saying something clearly to avoid a direct answer
Using more words than needed to say what you mean in a roundabout way
Using more words than needed, often repeating the same idea
Talking a lot quickly and without stopping
Antonyms
How Wordy
- Formal
1
9.5
18
5.8
7
7.1
8
3.7
- Literature
1
4.9
Surface Forms
Morphology
periphrastic = periphrasis (semi-transparent) = periphrasis + ic
Formed from the specialized noun 'periphrasis' plus the adjective-forming suffix '-ic'; the meaning 'roundabout in expression' is related but the base is a technical term not known by all learners.
Etymology
Periphrastic comes from Greek parts peri- 'around' and phrasis 'saying', and it is related to the English word phrase. So a periphrastic way of speaking is like 'saying around' something, which means using more words than needed or being roundabout.