Circumlocution

Circumlocution is when you use a lot of words to talk about something instead of just saying it directly. It's like when your parents ask you if you did something wrong and you start talking about everything else except for what they want to know. This is circumlocution!

When we use circumlocution, we often do it because we want to avoid saying something directly or because we don't know the right words to use. It can also be used to make something sound more fancy or important than it really is.

For example, instead of saying "I'm sorry, I broke the vase," someone might say "I regret to inform you that the ceramic vessel has sustained damage beyond its original integrity." That's a really fancy way of saying "I broke the vase."

So, to sum it up, circumlocution is using a lot of words to explain something when you could just say it with fewer words. It's like a big circle around what you really want to say!