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euphuism Definition

eu·phu·ism (yo̵̅o̅′fyo̵̅o̅ iz′əm)

noun

  1. the artificial, affected, high-flown style of speaking or writing used by John Lyly and his imitators, characterized by alliteration, balanced sentences, far-fetched figures of speech, etc.
  2. any artificial, high-flown style of speech or writing
  3. an instance of this

Etymology: < Euphues, fictitious character in two prose romances by John Lyly < Gr euphyēs, shapely, graceful < eu- (see eu-) + phyē, growth < phyein, to grow (see bondage) + -ism

euphuism Related Forms

eu′·phu·ist noun

euphuism Synonyms

euphuism

n.

inflation, grandiloquence, floridness, ornateness of style, delicacy, purism, Gongorism, affected elegance of language, pomposity, bombast, fustian, rhetoric; see also wordiness.

Browse dictionary entries near euphuism

  1. ‹ Euphrosyne
  2. ‹ Euphrates
  3. ‹ euphrasy
  4. ‹ euphotic
  5. ‹ euphoriant
  6. ‹ euphoria
  7. ‹ euphorbia
  8. ‹ euphony
  9. ‹ euphonium
  10. ‹ euphonious
  1. euphuistic ›
  2. euplastic ›
  3. euploid ›
  4. eupnea ›
  5. Eur ›
  6. Eurasia ›
  7. Eurasian ›
  8. Euratom ›
  9. eureka ›
  10. Eurex ›