euphuism

• Nom désignant un style de prose artificiel et raffiné, particulièrement caractéristique de la période élisabéthaine, marqué par des phrases équilibrées, des antithèses, des allitérations et des comparaisons développées avec des allusions mythologiques et naturelles.

A noun referring to an artificial, elegant style of prose, especially characteristic of the Elizabethan period, marked by balanced phrases, antithesis, alliteration, and extended similes with mythological and natural allusions.

1. Artificially elegant languageC2formal

   A style of speech or writing that is overly ornate, elaborate, and artificial in its elegance.

   Euphuisme

   • His speech was full of euphuism, making it sound unnatural.
   • The author's euphuism made the simple story difficult to follow.
   • Critics often dismiss euphuism as pretentious and affected.

   Synonymesaffectationartificialityfloridnessgrandiloquencemagniloquenceornatenesspreciositypurism

   Antonymesdirectnessplainnesssimplicity

2. Elizabethan prose styleC2formalbritish

   A highly elaborate prose style popular in the Elizabethan era, characterized by balance, antithesis, alliteration, and extended similes with references to nature and mythology.

   euphuisme

   • John Lyly's 'Euphues' is the classic example of euphuism.
   • Euphuism was a fashionable literary style in the 1580s.
   • The play's dialogue employed euphuism with its balanced clauses and mythological allusions.