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verbiage

noun

Simple meaning

The way in which something is expressed in words.

Pronunciation

Say it like this:

vurbeeij

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US device voice
IPA pronunciation (US)

ˈvɝbiɪdʒ

This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.

IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.

Word Review

Definition

Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.

noun

  1. The manner in which something is expressed in words; word choice.

  2. Overabundance of words

Word at a Glance

Difficulty
C2 · Proficient (estimated)
Frequency
Rare

Word Aura™

How this word commonly comes across.

Aura for this meaning

This meaning: The manner in which something is expressed in words; word choice.

Used this way, verbiage is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.

Emotional tone
Neutral
Formality
Neutral
Intensity
Not strongly marked
How common
Moderately common
Connotation
Matter-of-fact
Usage feel
Neutral and straightforward

Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.

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Common Patterns and Combinations

How this word naturally appears with others.

mere verbiageempty verbiagelegal verbiageexcess verbiageunnecessary verbiagemeaningless verbiageuseless verbiage

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Similar Words, What’s the Difference?

Close in meaning, but not always interchangeable.

  • phraseology

    The manner in which something is expressed in words.

  • diction

    Choice and use of words, especially with regard to effective communication.

  • phrasing

    The way a statement is put together, particularly in matters of style and word choice.

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What Does It Mean Here?

Words can change meaning depending on context.

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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.