prolix

Definitions  ·  Examples  ·  Pronunciations  ·  Etymologies  ·  Related  ·  Statistics  ·  Comments (6)  · 

View all »
Definitions (10)

Toggle American Heritage definitions American Heritage Dictionary (2)

  1. adjective Tediously prolonged; wordy: editing a prolix manuscript.
  2. adjective Tending to speak or write at excessive length. See Synonyms at wordy.

Toggle Century definitions Century Dictionary (6)

Toggle GNU Webster definitions GNU Webster's 1913 (1)

Toggle WordNet definitions WordNet (1)

Toggle elsewhere links Elsewhere on the web

View all »
Examples

  • But since I do not care to be too prolix, or to exhibit myself outside the sphere of my profession, I will omit the larger part of them, only touching upon those I cannot well neglect, which shall be the fewest in number and the most remarkable. —  The Autobiography of Benvenuto Cellini
  • I am becoming extremely prolix, but I perceive that I have forgotten dates, and two lines more or less will not add much to your fatigue. —  Memoirs Correspondence and Manuscripts of General Lafayette
  • I have often condensed the story, where it was prolix or repeated itself: but I have tried to follow faithfully both matter and style, and to give, word for word, as nearly as I could, any notable passages. —  The Hermits
  • Goethe's prose he did not consider good, but heavy and prolix, and lacking in descriptive power. —  Recollections Of My Childhood And Youth
  • The Indians are prolix, and attach value to many minutiae in the relation which not only does not help forward the denouement, but is tedious and witless to the last degree. —  Memoirs of 30 Years with the Indian Tribes on the American Frontiers
 

Tags

Sign up or sign in to add tags.

Stats

Prolix has been looked up 584 times, favorited 8 times, listed 144 times, and commented on 6 times.

stop updating
On Twitter

Photos from

flickr images

Add a related word »
Related

Roget's II Roget's II: The New Thesaurus

Allen's Allen's Synonyms and Antonyms

Used in the same context Used in the Same Context

Roget's II: The New Thesaurus, Third Edition by the Editors of the American Heritage® Dictionary. Copyright © 2003, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Etymologies (2)

Toggle American Heritage etymologies American Heritage Dictionary (1)

  1. Middle English, from Old French prolixe, from Latin prōlixus, poured forth, extended.

Toggle Century etymologies Century Dictionary (1)

  1. from French prolixe = Spanish prolijo = Portuguese prolixo = Italian prolisso, from Latin prolixus, stretched out, extended (as the hair, neck, tail, trees, tunic, etc.), Late Latin also prolix in speech, comprehension; also favorable, fortunate, courteous, etc.; prob. orig. ‘overflowing,’ from pro, forth, + lixus, orig. past participle of liqui, flow; cf. elixus, thoroughly soaked, boiled; lix. lye: see liquid. The second element cannot be laxus, loose, wide: see lax.
 

Pronunciations
Record your own »
/ˈproʊlɪks/
by American Heritage

Charts
frequency chart

Bubble size: how much this word was used in a year

Bubble height: used more or less than expected, vs. all uses evenly distributed

You can expect to see this word about once a year.

Recent Lookups

rapacious · pelt · long-lasting · organ-like · Indirect

Recent Favorites

TelePalmter · Espoo · stick-to-it-iveness · supine · doxastic

Recent Pronunciations

milosrdenstvi · lichen-covered · futon · sagacity · monoragngocious