VERBOSITY

Examples of VERBOSITY in a sentence

• The professor’s lectures were known for their verbosity, often leaving students overwhelmed with information.
• The politician’s speech was criticized for its unnecessary verbosity, leading many to question the clarity of their message.
• The author’s writing style, while rich in detail, occasionally bordered on verbosity, slowing down the pace of the narrative.
• The manager urged the team to prioritize clarity and brevity in their presentations, avoiding unnecessary verbosity.
• Despite the simplicity of the task, the employee’s report was marked by a surprising degree of verbosity.
• The editor’s primary role was to streamline the manuscript, eliminating any instances of verbosity that hindered the flow of the story.
• In academic writing, clarity often trumps verbosity, ensuring that complex ideas are conveyed with precision.
• The student’s essay was praised for its eloquence but criticized for occasional verbosity that obscured the main arguments.

Origin of VERBOSITY

The term verbosity has traversed a linguistic evolution, reflecting shifts in rhetorical style, literary criticism, and communication norms over time.

• Latin Roots: The term has its origins in the Latin word “verbum,” meaning “word” or “speech element,” and the suffix “-osus,” denoting abundance or fullness. In its early usage, it connoted the excessive use of words or verbosity in speech or writing.
• Old French Influence: Transitioning into Old French as “verbosité,” the term retained its essence of excessive wordiness or verbosity. This period saw the term gaining traction in literary criticism and rhetorical analysis, where it described a stylistic flaw characterized by unnecessary repetition, redundancy, or embellishment in language.
• Middle English Adoption: In Middle English, the term “verbosity” solidified its usage in various domains, including literature, oratory, and academic discourse. It became associated with the art of persuasion and effective communication, highlighting the importance of clarity, conciseness, and precision in language.
• Modern English Usage: In contemporary usage, “verbosity” continues to describe the use of more words than necessary to convey meaning, often resulting in tedious or prolix communication. It is commonly used in contexts such as writing, public speaking, and media critique to identify instances of wordiness or long-windedness that detract from clarity and impact.

From its Latin roots through Old French influence to its adoption into Middle and Modern English, the term verbosity reflects humanity’s ongoing quest for clarity, conciseness, and effectiveness in communication amidst the ever-changing landscape of language and rhetoric.

Synonyms

• Wordiness
• Prolixity
• Long-windedness
• Circumlocution
• Redundancy
• Tautology
• Repetitiveness
• Overelaboration

Antonyms

• Conciseness
• Brevity
• Clarity
• Directness
• Succinctness
• Terse
• Laconic
• Compactness