Definition of "periphrasis" in English

noun

1. The use of a longer expression instead of a shorter one with a similar meaning, for example "I am going to" instead of "I will".

2. (linguistics) Expressing a grammatical meaning (such as a tense) using a syntactic construction rather than morphological marking.

   • Language learners sometimes use periphrases like "did go" where a native speaker would use "went".
   • Native speakers use periphrases like "did not go" where a language learner might use "went not".

3. (rhetoric) The substitution of a descriptive word or phrase for a proper name (a type of circumlocution).

4. (rhetoric) The use of a proper name as a shorthand to stand for qualities associated with it.