| 词组 | verbiage |
| 释义 | verbiage Verbiage in its original and usual sense denotes an excess of words. It is similar to wordiness, except that it stresses more the superfluous words themselves than the quality that produces them; that is, a writer with a fondness for verbiage might be accused of wordiness. • One cannot spin such an easy brocade of verbiage in nonfiction of this caliber —Edward Hoagland, N. Y. Times Book Rev., 17 Oct. 1982 • ... designed to decode the verbiage of experts — Judith Appelbaum, N.Y. Times Book Rev., 9 Jan. 1983 • As an artist, I find much of the verbiage of art commentators insufferable —Gertrude Myrrh Reagan, letter to the editor, Science News, 17 May 1986 Verbiage has also been used since the early 19th century as a synonym of wording or diction: • The language of the dialogue is as familiar as the verbiage of the parlour fireside —The New British Theatre, 1814 (OED) • In musical verbiage a phrase is a portion of a melody that is performed without a pause —Albert E. Weir, The Piano, 1940 • ... the kid-glove verbiage of diplomacy —Frank Abbott Magruder, National Governments and International Relations, 1950 Such usage is treated as standard in the OED and in many current dictionaries, including our own, but some people continue to regard it as an error, insisting that verbiage should always imply excess. Those same people are also likely to find fault with such phrases as excess verbiage and excessive verbiage, in which they detect redundancy. The evidence shows, however, that the meaning of verbiage is often underscored in standard writing by an appropriate adjective: • ... Aunt Phoebe's imagination, her florid verbiage —H. G. Wells, Joan and Peter, 1918 • ... serving them without excess verbiage —Edwin Way Teale, N. Y. Herald Tribune Book Rev., 12 Dec. 1948 • ... not just of words but of excess verbiage running into the billions of tons —Thomas H. Middleton, Saturday Rev., 15 Oct. 1977 • ... the windy verbiage he seems to love —Grace-Anne Andreassi DeCandido, N. Y. Times Book Rev., 13 Feb. 1983 |
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