Skip to content

ambages

circumlocutions

noun ahm-BAH-hehs Rare
Communication Language

Origin: From Latin ambages, from ambi- ('around') + agere ('to drive, to lead').

Usage Note

Ambages is used almost exclusively in the fixed expression sin ambages ('without beating around the bush', 'straight to the point'). It is masculine and plural-only in modern Spanish (los ambages, with no singular in current use). The word is formal and literary; outside of sin ambages it rarely appears.

Examples

"Lo dijo sin ambages: el proyecto estaba mal."

Natural Translation

She said it plainly: the project was bad.

Literal Translation

She said it without-circumlocutions: the project was bad.

Free starter pack

Building your Spanish vocabulary?

Get the 100 most common Spanish words as a free PDF — one email, no spam.

Explore Spanish by topic