Verbose

Part of speech: adjective

Pronunciation: /vəˈbəʊs/

Definitions

1. Expressing ideas using more words than necessary, often in a long-winded or wordy manner
2. Employing an overabundance of words to articulate thoughts, which often results in a lack of clarity and conciseness
3. Characterized by an excessive use of words to convey meaning, leading to communication that is often unnecessarily detailed or overly elaborate

Etymology: "Verbose" is a plain Latin formation: it comes from "verbōsus", meaning "prolix" or "wordy", which is built from "verbum" ("word") and the suffix "-ōsus", used to make adjectives meaning "full of" or "prone to" something. Put together, the word is literally "full of words," and the English adjective keeps that sense of abundance without any shift in meaning. The root "verbum" is the source of a whole family of English words, including "verb," "verbal," and "proverb," all tracing back to the idea of speech and wording. The suffix "-ose," which appears in words like "bellicose" and "morose," carries the same sense of "full of" or "given to," so "verbose" sits comfortably alongside them. The word's pedigree is therefore transparent: its parts announce its meaning.

Synonyms: wordy, long-winded, prolix, loquacious, talkative

Antonyms: concise, succinct, terse, brief, pithy