Definition of "periphrase"

periphrase

/ˈpɛɹi.fɹeɪz/

noun
countable and uncountable, plural periphrases
1. (rhetoric) The use of more words than are necessary to express the idea; a roundabout, or indirect, way of speaking; circumlocution.
  Quotations
  To describe all those on whom the fates of Troy hinged , by enigmatic periphrases
  1821, Thomas De Quincey, John Paul Frederick Richter (published in London Magazine
  He held up the condition of the Church in the terrible mirror of his unflinching speech, which called things by their right names and dealt in no polite periphrases […]
  1863, George Eliot, Romola, Volume III, Book III, Chapter VI, page 56
verb
third-person singular simple present periphrases, present participle periphrasing, simple past and past participle periphrased
1. (transitive) To express by periphrase or circumlocution.
2. (intransitive) To use circumlocution.