euphuism
Flowery writing style
Euphuism is an elaborately artificial prose style marked by ornate language, balanced sentences, and excessive alliteration and antithesis.
The term comes from *Euphues*, a 16th-century English romance whose flowery rhetoric became fashionable then notorious.
Now euphuism describes any writing that prioritizes decorative flourishes over clarity: His euphuisms made even simple ideas sound pompous.
Showy self-importance
- preciosityOverrefined expression or manner
- artificialityState of being contrived
- affectationArtificial behavior for effect
- mannerismDistinctive personal habit
ostentation · highfalutin · pedantry · pomposity · grandiloquence · magniloquence · fustian · bombast
Excessively ornate or ruddy
- baroqueExcessively ornate or elaborate
- rococoExcessively elaborate in style
- embellishedDecorated or exaggerated
- gildedOverlaid with gold leaf
overwrought · lavish · ostentatious · intricate · fanciful · decorative · flamboyant · sumptuous
Tudor prose stylist
- SidneyPersonal or place name
- ArcadiaGreek region or paradise
- courtlyRefined and dignified
- TudorSixteenth-century English ruling family
Shakespeare · Spenser · Petrarchan · Renaissance · humanism · vernacular · pastoral · sonnet
Direct opposite; contrasting juxtaposition
- parallelismMatching structural elements
- alliterationMatching initial consonants
- assonanceVowel sound repetition
- balanceSteadiness or amount owed
conceit · hyperbole · paradox · simile · metaphor · wordplay · elegance · refinement
Formal eloquent discourse
- eloquencePersuasive verbal grace
- persuasionConvincing through reasoning
- discourseFormal communication on subjects
- sophistryDeceptive reasoning
declamation · elocution · diction · cadence · prose style · expression · fluency · articulation
pretentiousness
Showy self-importance
- preciosityOverrefined expression or manner
- artificialityState of being contrived
- affectationArtificial behavior for effect
mannerism · ostentation · highfalutin · pedantry · pomposity · grandiloquence · magniloquence · fustian · bombast · loftiness
florid
Excessively ornate or ruddy
- baroqueExcessively ornate or elaborate
- rococoExcessively elaborate in style
- embellishedDecorated or exaggerated
gilded · overwrought · lavish · ostentatious · intricate · fanciful · decorative · flamboyant · sumptuous · opulent
John Lyly
Tudor prose stylist
Tudor · Shakespeare · Spenser · Petrarchan · Renaissance · humanism · vernacular · pastoral · sonnet · allegory
antithesis
Direct opposite; contrasting juxtaposition
- parallelismMatching structural elements
- alliterationMatching initial consonants
- assonanceVowel sound repetition
balance · conceit · hyperbole · paradox · simile · metaphor · wordplay · elegance · refinement · ornateness
oratory
Formal eloquent discourse
- eloquencePersuasive verbal grace
- persuasionConvincing through reasoning
- discourseFormal communication on subjects
sophistry · declamation · elocution · diction · cadence · prose style · expression · fluency · articulation · speechmaking
euphuismplain speech
Unembellished verbal expression
conciseness · brevity · simplicity · terseness · spareness
euphuismnaturalness
Unaffected, uncontrived quality
straight talk · colloquialism · vernacular · artlessness · unaffectedness