These words indicate a roundabout way of expressing ideas or of referring to something. Circumlocution , derived from Latin roots that mean speaking around, is quite formal. Periphrasis , derived from comparable Greek roots, is even more formal and more technical in tone. Both pertain to the substitution of lengthy phraseology for more simple expressions: the circumlocutions of a candidate who wished to win friends on both sides of every issue; judicial rulings that are clogged with periphrasis , peppered with whereases, and understandable by no one. Circumlocution , being slightly more common, has gathered more connotations to it; the word can suggest the avoidance of direct statement out of squeamishness, insincerity, self-interest or a misplaced desire for elegance: the emphasis of diplomatic protocol on its own strange set of polite circumlocutions . Periphrasis , by contrast, is more restricted to a grammatical context and is perhaps more neutral in simply indicating the choice of a longer rather than a shorter expression of comparable function. "In order to" is sometimes a needless periphrasis for "to".

Indirectness , of course, is a much less formal, much more general, and much clearer synonym for the previous pair of words. It refers to the avoidance of simply or forceful expressions for whatever reason: an indirectness of style that stems from his reliance on the passive voice and his constant reference to himself as "one." By contrast, euphuism is highly specific. This word comes from the name of a literary character, Euphues , subject of two Elizabethan works of fiction by John Lyly. It refers to a ridiculous straining after an elegant prose style by clothing a paucity of thought in orotund parallelisms, flowery similes and other verbal frills.

Euphemism , sometimes confused with euphuism , comes from Greek roots meaning to speak well. It refers to a specific tendency in speech or writing which involves the substituting of a mild, inexact or technical-sounding term for a more forceful, clear or blunt term when the latter is thought capable of giving offence. Euphemisms are commonly substituted for words pertaining to parts of the body, death, sex and bodily functions. "Limb" was a Victorian euphemism for "leg." Some use the euphemism "pass away" instead of saying "die." "The departed" is often used as a euphemism for "the dead."