What does periphrase mean?
A periphrase is an indirect expression that replaces direct, straightforward language with a longer or more roundabout formulation. It can be a noun naming such an expression or a verb meaning to express something in this way. Writers use periphrasing when the precise term is difficult, inappropriate, unfamiliar, or intentionally concealed, as in diplomatic language, legal writing, and translation. The device can add elegance, politeness, or precision by placing an idea in a meaningful context. It can also hinder communication when it becomes unnecessarily elaborate. Related vocabulary includes circumlocution, which emphasizes roundaboutness as a rhetorical technique, and paraphrase, which broadly means restating an idea in different words. Periphrasis is the closely related noun for the same concept, while periphrastic describes language characterized by periphrasing. The word remains most common in academic discussion and careful criticism of style rather than in ordinary informal conversation.
An expression that conveys a meaning indirectly through longer or more roundabout wording.
"The committee's long-winded description of the arrangement was simply a periphrase for nepotism."
The plural is periphrases. The word is more formal than plain alternatives such as roundabout expression and is common in discussions of rhetoric and style.
To express a thought or meaning indirectly or in roundabout language.
"The witness repeatedly periphrased his answer, avoiding the questioner's precise accusation."
The third-person singular is periphrases, and the present participle is periphrasing. The verb can describe a rhetorical choice or an evasive speaking strategy.
The standard plural of the noun is periphrases; the same form is also the third-person singular of the verb.
"Critics dismissed the speech as a collection of familiar ideas wrapped in elaborate periphrases."
A periphrase is language taking the scenic route: it can add precision or atmosphere, but it can also turn one plain word into a small journey.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does periphrase come from?
The word entered English in the late 16th century through Latin periphrasis, from Greek períphrasis, a compound of peri, “around,” and phrasis, “speech” or “expression.” The Greek term referred to an indirect way of speaking, literally an expression that went around the direct term. English later developed the verb and the adjective periphrastic, while periphrasis remained an established formal synonym.
Related word forms
How periphrase is actually used
The term is used in rhetoric, grammar, translation, and stylistics. It is often mildly critical when the intended wording is unnecessarily elaborate, though it can also neutrally describe a deliberate rhetorical strategy.
Easily confused with periphrase
A paraphrase restates something in different words, while a periphrase is specifically longer and more indirect, often avoiding direct terminology.
Circumlocution is the general technique of using roundabout wording, whereas a periphrase is a particular expression formed in that way.