Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- n. An excess of words for the purpose; wordiness.
- n. The manner in which something is expressed in words: software verbiage.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- n. The use of many words without necessity; superabundance of words; wordiness; verbosity.
- n. Synonyms Verbosity, etc. See pleonasm.
Wiktionary
- n. Overabundance of words
- n. The manner in which something is expressed in words;
GNU Webster's 1913
- n. The use of many words without necessity, or with little sense; a superabundance of words; verbosity; wordiness.
WordNet 3.0
- n. the manner in which something is expressed in words
- n. overabundance of words
Etymologies
- French, from Old French verbier, to chatter, from verbe, word, from Latin verbum; see verb.
Examples
“This kind of verbiage is beloved of talking heads, who use it to lead in to their point.”
“In appropriate touching, staring, and verbiage is also upsetting, disconcerting, or distracting to many people as well.”
“Honestly the shift in verbiage on TechCenter should probably be considered as a clarification about how IE9 requirements will be approached.”
IDG: Microsoft's new stance: IE9 won't require Windows 7 Service Pack 1
“Much of this verbiage comes from the right (be it the Christian or Republican) side, from those of us who are affluent and do not have to worry about putting three meals on the table each day.”
The Huffington Post: Locke Rush: What Has Happened to the Social Concern of the Founding Fathers?
“Garcia's prose shows the making of a stylist, someone whose verbiage is as entertaining as the story itself.”
“A special shout out to John for unleashing this viciously vain and venomous vermint whose verbiage is verifiably vacous and valueless upon us.”
“The common verbiage is signed and sworn to before me this ... dayof.”
“A meeting between aliens, moderated by a human, discusses a possible human uprising, but the verbiage is so ... alien ... that it made it very difficult to follow.”
“Notice how much verbiage is wasted on discussing Palin – while McCain gets a free ride from the MSM.”
“The press release is very much different in verbiage, but with similar concepts.”
Indelibly Green Danish Kitchen Designs Hit New York | Inhabitat
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘verbiage’.
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Words
phantasmagoria, eviscerate, avast, simulacrum, varicose, oblique, gestalt, ersatz, vernal, vivace, stellate, synecdoche and 314 more...
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henryar's list
marmoleum, menagerie, cyan, ochre, pilfer, discombobulate, loquacious, iridescent, amethyst, derelict, botulism, equilibrium and 240 more...
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The -ages of Man(-age)
Trivet also has this list, which you should go see. And then I found this list, and this list...
manage, salvage, selvadge, savage, voyage, umbrage, entourage, homage, carriage, marriage, language, potage and 123 more...
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yum. delicious description
sycophantic, doughface, unctuous, sebaceous, oleaginous, diabolic, ostent, sudatory, bulbous, pustule, bauble, trinket and 6 more...
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September Words-11337
During the month of September, post at least 10 new words to this list. Make sure you cite where you read the word (book/author/pg) and quote the context/sentence where you found it. If someone has...
flabbergasted, discombobulated, inclination, serendipity, savvy, profound, incarnation, myriad, confiscate, audacity, deciduous, adieu and 79 more...
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Words are my Friends
words i like
sesquipedelian, periphrastic, prolixity, verbose, verbiage, squeezer
Charnell mack Also, my verbiage is a lot more precise than all the computer models in the world!(ONLINE) Sep 27, 2010
frindley For Sarah Palin's particular usage, see verbage. Oct 20, 2008
chained_bear In the vocabulary of Sarah Palin, a synonym for "language."
"The poetry of Sarah Palin" seen here. Oct 7, 2008
abraxaszugzwang I'm simultaneously repelled by and drawn to this word. Jan 23, 2007