Circumlocution (also called circumduction, circumvolution, periphrasis, or ambage) is locution that circles around a specific idea with multiple words rather than directly evoking it with fewer and apter words. It is sometimes a necessary tool of communication (for example, in getting around lexical gaps to overcome untranslatability), but it is also often a flaw in communication (for example, when it is a figure of speech that is unnecessarily ambiguous and obscure). Ambiguity means that information can have multiple meanings. Roundabout speech refers to using many words (such as "a tool used for cutting things such as paper and hair") to describe something for which a concise (and commonly known) expression exists ("scissors"). The vast majority of definitions found in dictionaries are circumlocutory. Circumlocution is often used by people with aphasia and people learning a new language, where in the absence of a word (such as "abuelo" [grandfather] in Spanish) the subject can simply be described ("el padre de su padre" [the father of one's father]). Euphemism, innuendo, and equivocation are different types of ambiguous and roundabout language, also called circumlocution.

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