periphrastic
/ˌpɛ.ɹəˈfɹæ.stɪk/
Word Rarity
Very rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 1.70 in modern English
21
Scrabble Score
12
Letters
2
Syllables
9
Unique Chars
Meaning
adj
Indirect in naming an entity; circumlocutory.
adj
Example Sentences
- "He wrote a periphrastic love letter to his wife to patch up their relationship."
- "She was simply asked to express how she felt, but her response was periphrastic."
- "As poetry it does not measure up to Aasen; as translation it is periphrastic, arbitrary, not at all faithful."
- "That was a way of putting it—not very satisfactory/ A periphrastic study in a worn-out poetical fashion/ Leaving one still with the intolerable wrestle / With words and meanings."
- "In writing, they deem it irreverent to express the Supreme Being [and] in conversation they generally use a periphrastic epithet, such as the All-Good."
- "“The daughter of the man” may be used as a periphrastic synonym for “the man’s daughter”."
Etymology
Borrowed from Ancient Greek περιφραστικός (periphrastikós), from περίφρασις (períphrasis, “periphrasis”).
Origin
Word Breakdown
- Root: περιφραστικός
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˌpɛ.ɹəˈfɹæ.stɪk/
- British English: /ˌpɛ.ɹɪˈfɹæ.stɪk/