Verbiage
VER-bee-ij
/ˈvɜːr.bi.ɪdʒ/
Speech or writing that uses too many words or excessively technical language.
Refers to the superfluous words themselves, as opposed to the person writing them.
The story behind the word. Borrowed from French 'verbiage' in the 18th century, derived from 'verbier' (to chatter), which in turn traces back to Latin 'verbum'.
Word relationships
- verbosity: 'Verbosity' is the abstract quality of being wordy; 'verbiage' refers to the excess words themselves.
- padding: 'Padding' is informal filler added to reach a word count goal.
- brevity: Concise and exact use of words.
- core: The central, essential part of a text.
Commonly confused with
- foliage: 'Foliage' refers to plant leaves; 'verbiage' refers to excess words.
Collocations
- excess verbiage
- dense verbiage
- legal verbiage
- cut through the verbiage
Idioms & expressions
- word salad
- fluff and filler
Example sentences
- "The editor stripped away all unnecessary verbiage to make the contract easy for clients to read." Contract Review
Memory hook
Verbiage = Verbal garbage! Extra words you should throw out. Verbiage = Verbal garbage.
When not to use
Do not confuse with 'wording' or 'phrasing' in neutral contexts; verbiage almost always carries a negative critique.
Fun facts
- Although some speakers mistakenly use 'verbiage' neutrally to mean 'text', standard style guides insist it means excess text.
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