Using more words than necessary; characterized by excessive wordiness or long-windedness. It describes speech or writing that is unnecessarily elaborate or lengthy.
From Latin 'verbosus' meaning 'wordy,' from 'verbum' (word) plus the suffix '-osus' (full of). The word entered English in the mid-17th century. It carries a negative connotation, suggesting inefficient communication despite abundance of words.
The irony of 'verbose' is that it's a relatively short word to describe excessive wordiness - a perfect example of linguistic efficiency. Writers often struggle with verbosity because they mistake quantity for quality, but as Mark Twain supposedly said, 'I didn't have time to write a short letter, so I wrote a long one instead.'
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