Home › Glossary › Letter C

circuitous language

Device
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

Want to hear it? Click the Listen button to hear the browser speak the word using text-to-speech!

The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

Diction that deliberately avoids directness, preferring roundabout phrasing

Detailed Definition
Circuitous language is a poetic style that deliberately avoids direct statement, instead employing digression, circumlocution, or layered metaphor to approach a subject obliquely; this technique can evoke mystery, psychological complexity, or resistance to closure, inviting readers to navigate meaning through indirect, winding paths of association.
Example
Example in poetry:
Verbose, winding poetry full of detours; Verses that avoid direct meaning by looping language; Saying “the orb which graces the night” instead of “moon”; Indirect ornate diction bending around idea.
Additional Notes
circuitous language|Poetic language that is indirect, winding, or roundabout, often delaying the main point or subject for artistic effect, density, or ambiguity; related to Circumlocution.
Also Known As
roundabout language indirect speech winding diction evasive phrasing Circumlocutory verse
Skip to main content