prolix
1
9.5
- adjective
- /prəˈlɪks/
- Formal
:
prolijo
- With variable line spacing, scalable font sizes, adjustable letter spacing, and creative margin measurements, some prolix lawyers were able to squeeze 5 pounds of words into a 4-pound brief.
Examples
-
You are a prolix old coot who spews a ton of verbiage but never persuades anyone other than what you see in the mirror.
Blog text (9) -
It would indeed be harder, but Black's reasoning is so correct that it's a shame it isn't available in a less prolix version that will resonate with Joe Sixpack, who really needs to understand this stuff.
Blog text (12) -
It's impossible to communicate with someone who has idiosyncratic and prolix definitions of simple terms.
Blog text (7) -
If you need to write a few paragraphs to define what a single word means, I think you need to learn to be more precise with language; it's impossible to communicate with someone who has idiosyncratic and prolix definitions of simple terms.
Blog text (7) -
The course was taught by a brilliant, feisty young Berkeley professor who had condescended to come across the bay each day to teach writing at our junior college, and he was dynamic, prolix, and infuriating.
Fiction book (1998) -
More significant in the context of this discussion is the reference to Zorrilla's "versos fluidos y armoniosos," a notion that turns up in a later and more prolix consideration of Don Juan Tenorio.
Academic text (1991) -
He dedicated his prolix poem in defense of women, Le champion des dames (completed in 1442 or 1443), to Philip the Good, third Duke of Burgundy.
Academic text (2001) -
His prolix speech made it difficult for the audience to stay engaged.
-
The report was too prolix, filled with unnecessary details that obscured the main points.
-
She found the author's prolix writing style tedious and hard to follow.
Synonyms
33
5.5
Long confused speech or writing that is hard to follow
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
Using more words than needed, often repeating the same idea
To use more words than needed in speech or writing to say something simple
Using long, difficult words in speech or writing
Antonyms
How Wordy
Surface Forms
Etymology
Prolix comes from the Latin prolixus, meaning 'stretched out' or very long, so imagine words being pulled out like a stretched rope. A helpful way to remember it is to think of prolong: when you make something longer it can become 'prolix', or tediously long.