periphrasis

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Prince Bumpo, the heir to the throne, is a mooncalf who mistakes fairy tales for real life, speaks in Elizabethan periphrasis and murmurs to himself: “If only I were a white prince!”

From New York Times • Sep. 9, 2020

This periphrasis so fascinated Charles W. Morton, now the associate editor of the Atlantic, that he began collecting examples of "Elongated Yellow Fruit" writing.

From Time Magazine Archive

Oddly, they all speak the same puckish periphrasis.

From Time Magazine Archive

And with this happy periphrasis, our friend admitted his defeat.

From The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 05, No. 28, February, 1860 by Various

There is incomparably more beauty and force in expressing the energy of the Verb, with its personal relation and concomitant circumstances, in one word, than by a periphrasis of pronouns and auxiliaries.

From Elements of Gaelic Grammar by Stewart, Alexander