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View definitions for long winded

long winded

adjective as in long-winded

adjective as in rambling

adjective as in conversational

adjective as in discursive

adjective as in wordy

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Example Sentences

His many publications and his emails to me are long-winded, occasionally exaggerated, and sometimes hard to follow.

What do you call a long-winded member of Congress whose opinions infuriate you?

That quote may expose Obama as long-winded, but we knew that.

The downside: Santorum is a long-winded campaigner who gets tangled in talk of subcommittees and amendments.

Basically, Khrushchev was his usual blustering long-winded self and there was no way that David could stop him.

A minister cannot control long-winded gentlemen, and when gentlemen are very long-winded there must be delay.

His novels were terribly long-winded, but there are generations which find such a quality to their taste.

And this he did, though of course not at top speed, the pumas not being a race of long-winded runners like the wolves.

The bully-ragging, long-winded collection letter has no place in self-respecting business.

His Despatches, passionately long-winded, are exceedingly stiff reading to the like of us.

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Frequently Asked Questions

What is another word for long-winded?

Long-winded is used to describe to someone or something that goes on and on—it can be applied to a person or to a speech or a piece of writing.

How could you describe a long-winded person?

The adjective prolix can be used to describe a person who talks for a long time and uses a lot of words. It’s much more formal than long-winded.

The words garrulous, loquacious, talkative, and chatty can all be used to describe a person who talks a lot. They typically imply that such a person talks all the time—that they’re inclined to talk. Though it’s not always the case, this usually also involves them talking for a long time at once. The word voluble can also imply this, but it’s much more formal than long-winded.

What is long-winded writing?

When long-winded is applied to a speech or a piece of writing, similar words include verbose and wordy (which both mean having too many words), and prolix, which means both long and wordy. The adjective rambling describes speech or writing that goes on at length but doesn’t stay on topic. A perhaps more polite way of saying that a piece of writing is long-winded is calling it lengthy.

What is the opposite (antonym) of long-winded?

The direct opposite of long-winded is short-winded—meaning “brief, concise, or to the point.” Short-winded is not as commonly used as long-winded, and it’s more often applied to speeches or pieces of writing, as opposed to people. The words succinct and concise can both be used to describe people, pieces of writing, or speeches that get right to the point without taking too long or using too many words.

How do you use long-winded in a sentence?

Long-winded can be used to describe people, speech, or writing.

Here are some examples of long-winded in a sentence:

  • His speech was so long-winded that I almost fell asleep!
  • My coworkers tell me I’m long-winded during presentations, but I just like to be thorough.
  • I realized my essay was really long-winded and over the word count—I had to cut several pages. 

Is it long winded, longwinded, or long-winded?

It’s by far most commonly spelled as long-winded.

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On this page you'll find 39 synonyms, antonyms, and words related to long-winded, such as: chatty, loquacious, rambling, bombastic, gabby, and garrulous.

From Roget's 21st Century Thesaurus, Third Edition Copyright © 2013 by the Philip Lief Group.

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