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/ˈpɛɹi.fɹeɪz/ · noun
(rhetoric) The use of more words than are necessary to express the idea; a roundabout, or indirect, way of speaking; circumlocution..
1821, Thomas De Quincey, John Paul Frederick Richter (published in London Magazine To describe all those on whom the fates of Troy hinged , by enigmatic periphrases
He held up the condition of the Church in the terrible mirror of his unflinching speech, which called things by their right names and dealt in no polite periphrases[…]
Use periphrase when its meaning, tone and grammar fit the full sentence. A synonym is not always a direct replacement.
Periphrase means (rhetoric) The use of more words than are necessary to express the idea; a roundabout, or indirect, way of speaking; circumlocution..
Common synonyms include periphrasis.
The opposite depends on the specific sense.
1821, Thomas De Quincey, John Paul Frederick Richter (published in London Magazine To describe all those on whom the fates of Troy hinged , by enigmatic periphrases
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