I. ˈwərdē, ˈwə̄d-, ˈwəid-, -di adjective
( -er/-est )
Etymology: Middle English, from Old English wordig, from word (I) + -ig -y
1. : using or containing many words : verbose
a wordy and insolent braggart — Sir Walter Scott
finding wordy fault with the conditions under which he lives — Agnes Repplier
2. : of, belonging to, or consisting of words : verbal
wordy war
Synonyms:
wordy , verbose , prolix , diffuse , and redundant can all mean using or marked by the use of more, usually far more, words than are necessary to express the thought. wordy suggests garrulousness when applied to what is spoken
the newspapers of the day … printed long wordy editorials — Marjory S. Douglas
proceedings, which were long and disorderly, were delayed by wordy disputes — F.H.Underhill
a senile and wordy character
verbose suggests overabundance of words as a literary or rhetorical fault
slow, verbose, and ineffective instructional methods — R.E.De Kieffer
not diffuse, but they are verbose in the exact sense of that term; they are too luxurious in words — H.S.Canby
prolix implies so much attention to minute detail as to extend the matter beyond all due bounds, strongly implying tediousness
his style is … excessively long-winded and prolix — R.A.Hall b. 1911
the style is forceful, repetitive and prolix — Cyril Connolly
diffuse implies lack of compactness and sense of point, suggesting a wordy ranging over a subject
this is a sprawling, formless, diffuse, and unselective book — Orville Prescott
fear … that I was getting too diffuse; but now I am glad that I went into detail from the first — Bram Stoker
redundant applies to something superfluous, to repetitious and unnecessary words or phrases, or to a speaker or writer whose style is marked by them, usually habitually
she had been, like nearly all very young writers, superfluous of phrase, redundant — Rose Macaulay
a wordy, redundant, cliché-ridden style
a most redundant after-dinner speaker
II. ˈwərdi
chiefly Scotland
variant of worthy