What does verboseness mean?
Verboseness is the quality of expressing something with more words than are necessary. It is often used to criticize writing or speech that is unnecessarily long, repetitive, or elaborate, whether the extra length comes from complicated vocabulary, excessive detail, or poor organization. The term can refer either to a particular instance of wordiness or to a general tendency toward it. In professional and editorial settings, verboseness may suggest that the writer has failed to distinguish between giving useful information and adding unnecessary explanation. Avoiding verboseness can therefore improve clarity, but brevity alone is not always the goal: technical subjects, legal texts, and persuasive arguments may require substantial detail. The word is formal and somewhat evaluative, expressing the judgment that a message has become unnecessarily diffuse. It is closely related to the adjective verbose and the more familiar noun verbosity.
nounThe quality of being excessively wordy or using more words than are needed to express an idea. It can also refer to a tendency to produce long, complicated explanations.
- Excessive use of words in speech or writing.
- A tendency toward long, unnecessarily complicated expression.
"His explanation was clear in substance, but its verboseness obscured the main point."
"The report was criticized for its verboseness rather than for any factual errors."
"Reducing the verboseness of the instructions made the procedure easier to follow."
Pluralization is grammatically regular but rarely needed in ordinary use.
"The guide addresses several common verbosenesses in technical writing."
Verboseness hides a simple message in a cloud of words—the grammatical equivalent of explaining the journey instead of the destination.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does verboseness come from?
The word comes through French from Latin verbōsus, derived from verbum, meaning “word.” The Latin adjective referred to something expressed with many words and was inherited into English in the 16th century in the form verbose. The noun verbosity developed alongside it, while verboseness is a later English formation meaning the quality of being verbose. All of these forms continue the Latin association between wordiness and the quantity or manner of words used.
Related word forms
How verboseness is actually used
The word is formal and generally critical in tone, used to describe speech, writing, explanations, or styles that are longer than they need to be. It is more common in editorial, academic, and professional contexts than in everyday conversation.
Easily confused with verboseness
Verbosity names the quality of being excessively wordy, while verbose is normally the adjective describing something that uses too many words.
Verbosity is the standard, more common noun for excessive use of words; verboseness is a valid but less frequent equivalent.