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rhetoric

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary

English

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English Wikipedia has an article on:
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Alternative forms

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Etymology 1

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From Middle English rethorik, from Latin rēthoricus, rhētoricus, from Ancient Greek ῥητορῐκός (rhētorĭkós). By surface analysis, rhetor +‎ -ic.

Pronunciation

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Adjective

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rhetoric

  1. Synonym of rhetorical.

Etymology 2

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From Middle English rethorik, rhetoric, from Old French rhetorique, from Latin rhētorica, from Ancient Greek ῥητορική (rhētorikḗ), ellipsis of ῥητορικὴ τέχνη (rhētorikḕ tékhnē), from ῥητορικός (rhētorikós, “concerning public speech”), from ῥήτωρ (rhḗtōr, “public speaker”).

Pronunciation

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Noun

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rhetoric (countable and uncountable, plural rhetorics)

  1. The art of using language, especially public speaking, as a means to persuade.
    • 2023 March 8, Howard Johnston, “Was Marples the real railway wrecker?”, in RAIL, number 978, page 53:
      Transport Minister Marples, meanwhile, used arrogant rhetoric and showed his personal contempt for railways when confirming in Parliament that a third of the network was to be closed even before the survey results were known.
    • 2024 December 24, Aaron Pellish, “Trump says he will direct Justice Department to ‘vigorously pursue the death penalty’”, in CNN‎[1]:
      “As soon as I am inaugurated, I will direct the Justice Department to vigorously pursue the death penalty to protect American families and children from violent rapists, murderers, and monsters. We will be a Nation of Law and Order again!” Trump wrote on Truth Social, echoing his long-standing advocacy for use of the death penalty, which was part of his tough-on-crime rhetoric during the 2024 campaign.
  2. (sometimes derogatory) Meaningless language with an exaggerated style intended to impress.
    It’s only so much rhetoric.
Synonyms
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Derived terms
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English terms derived from the Proto-Indo-European root *werh₁- (0 c, 18 e)
Collocations
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Collocations
  • Adjectives often applied to "rhetoric":
    • (by kind or area of application) political, legal, visual, classical, ancient
    • (by quality) violent, empty, inflammatory, hateful, heated, fiery, vitriolic, angry, overheated, extreme
Translations
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See also

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Anagrams

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