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. US 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
- From French verbiage (Wiktionary)
- French, from Old French verbier, to chatter, from verbe, word, from Latin verbum; see verb. (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)
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 330 more...
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Words build meanings from origins( et...
These come from gamma meditation ,I think.
discursive, exogenous, machinations, purportedly, sumptuous, congruity, cantankerous, incongruous, festoon, hessian, ratiocinative, stratigraphic and 2057 more...
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Philosophic , etymology
every major discipline has uniquely developed esoteric nomenclature to facilitate interdisciplinary dissemination
quale , qualia, elegy, tacet, lexicon, annunciate, caste, eros, contrive, purlicue, irony, venacular, dilapidate and 569 more...
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Favorite adjectives - sinfully delici...
words that, when used in an unusual context, make you stop, stare, and read the sentence over and over again. LisaWrites - resource
sycophantic, doughface, unctuous, sebaceous, oleaginous, diabolic, ostent, sudatory, bulbous, pustule, bauble, trinket and 6 more...
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wonky words
apotheosis, apotheosize, gimcrack, Strine, denizen, hoary, epicene, spurious, scofflaw, effete, scrimshaw, quincunx and 3 more...
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concerning language
jargon, pidgin, Tok Pisin, Pidgin English, creole, creolize, portmanteau word, portmanteau, foodie, pleonasm, verbiage
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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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A Refined Lexicon
ambivalence, ambivalent, equivocal, equivocation, equivocate, prevaricate, prevarication, quietude, quiescent, quiescence, vanquish, pluviosity and 137 more...
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Favorite Words
pablum, maundy, histrionic, adamant, ascribe, verbiage, insouciant, erudite, gregarious, superfluous, banal, obdurate and 280 more...
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catinthehat345's List
compere, reticle, colophon, miasma, eldritch, raconteur, plectrum, poltroon, vestibular, pastiche, cravat, acumen and 179 more...
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ICE
quincunx, adoxography, panjundrum, breloque, surd, scripturient, rousant, favrile, embouchure, aquarelle, griffonage, sussultatory and 521 more...
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Twitter favorites
The new favourite words of people on Twitter.
A script searches Twitter for "X is my new favorite word" and adds it to this list.
See also:
unfathomably, glice, cuh, fab, ciggaty, doll, thuggin, oxymoronic, pineapple, succubutt, griming, cheeky and 3099 more... -
Need to Know!
elicit, educe, refute, cogency, churlish, martinet, veritable, polyglot, dissemble, histrionics, prevarication, verbiage and 166 more...
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Week 1, Day 1
ignominy, marquee, deter, chariot, stern, perfidy, treacherous, insolent, presumptuous, banish, dubious, livid and 133 more...
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Vocab
Words that I come across, and go blank, or want to clarify.
nefarious, edifice, malevolent, ostensible, folderol, bauble, livid, amnesty, calculus, saddlery, maisonette, cuisse and 423 more...
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ADW1
obdurate, obstinate, behest, injunction, enjoin, circumspect, ensconce, discursive, lugubrious, doleful, somber, ken and 2476 more...
Tweets
Looking for tweets for verbiage.
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