noun
- a roundabout or indirect way of speaking; circumlocution or evasive language
Usage: formal; archaic; often used in plural
Examples
- The politician spoke in ambages, avoiding a direct answer to the reporter's question.
- Without ambages, she stated her position clearly and concisely.
- The ancient text was full of ambages that made its true meaning difficult to discern.
- He preferred directness to the ambages of diplomatic language.
- The lawyer's ambages only confused the jury further.