prolix
AdjectiveOpen English WordNet
Adjective (1)
- tediously prolonged or tending to speak or write at great length“editing a prolix manuscript”“a prolix lecturer telling you more than you want to know”“He gave a good verbal description of the suspect”Synonyms: verbalOpposite conciseSimilar long-winded, diffuse, pleonasticRelates to prolixity, prolixnessSee also voluble
What does it mean? Question 1 of today’s quiz
Webster's Dictionary (1913)
Origin: L. prolixus extended, long, prolix, probably fr. pro before, forward + liqui to flow, akin to liquidus liquid; cf. OL. lixa water: cf. F. prolixe. See Liquid.
1. Extending to a great length; unnecessarily long; minute in narration or argument; excessively particular in detail; — rarely used except with reference to discourse written or spoken; as, a prolix oration; a prolix poem; a prolix sermon.
With wig prolix, down flowing to his waist.— William Cowper
2. Indulging in protracted discourse; tedious; wearisome; — applied to a speaker or writer.
Synonyms: Long; diffuse; prolonged; protracted; tedious; tiresome; wearisome. — Prolix, Diffuse. A prolix writer delights in circumlocution, extended detail, and trifling particulars. A diffuse writer is fond of amplifying, and abounds in epithets, figures, and illustrations. Diffuseness often arises from an exuberance of imagination; prolixity is generally connected with a want of it.
Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913), from GCIDE 0.54