periphrastic

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

But it seems to this reader, Rebecca becoming Maud also speaks to the preoccupation of this entire book: the periphrastic construction of identity itself.

From New York Times • Mar. 29, 2022

He misrepresents, distorts, bisects sentences and employs periphrastic phrases to make his points.

From Time Magazine Archive

In addition to the above inflected forms, there are many periphrastic or compound forms, made up of auxiliaries with the infinitives and participles.

From An English Grammar by Sewell, James Witt

But its fault even in that part is that he confounds the genius of the English language, making it periphrastic and literal, instead of elliptical and idiomatic.

From The Spirit of the Age Contemporary Portraits by Hazlitt, William

"I won't press the analogy, but I will say that those who are themselves periphrastic should avoid criticising others for being ambaginous."

From The Inventions of the Idiot by Bangs, John Kendrick