rhetorical
used for, belonging to, or concerned with mere style or effect, rather than truth, substance, or meaning: Her bold and ingenious analogies, although engaging, are purely rhetorical, adding nothing to our understanding of the issue.
marked by or tending to use exaggerated language or bombast:Fortunately, the rebel leaders did not have the military power to follow through on their fiery rhetorical eruptions.
of, relating to, or concerned with rhetoric, or the skillful use of language to persuade people:She had spent hours with her advisors discussing rhetorical strategy, and now it was time to deliver the speech.
of, relating to, or in reference to a rhetorical question: No need to respond—that was rhetorical.
Origin of rhetorical
1Other words for rhetorical
Other words from rhetorical
- rhe·tor·i·cal·ly, adverb
- rhe·tor·i·cal·ness, noun
- non·rhe·tor·i·cal, adjective
- un·rhe·tor·i·cal, adjective
Words Nearby rhetorical
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use rhetorical in a sentence
It can be helpful to explicitly remind those taking a more academic rhetorical stance that, for some, it is not possible to avoid challenging emotions like fear and grief in discussing these events.
How we talk to children about the attack on Capitol Hill matters | Daniel Bentley | January 7, 2021 | FortuneThe “people have a right to be angry” isn’t the only line of rhetorical defense Fox has employed in the hours after the violence.
Fox News wants its viewers angry enough to watch but not angry enough to riot | Peter Kafka | January 7, 2021 | VoxThey are that bubble, the outer rhetorical fortress inside which the movement’s genuine convictions sit protected and undisturbed.
A congressman’s outburst on the House floor puts the Sedition Caucus to shame | Greg Sargent | January 7, 2021 | Washington PostHe believed — wrongly, as it turned out — that his fame and rhetorical skills could stir Unionist sentiment among sensible Southerners, despite calls for secession from their newspapers and their intemperate politicians.
Gracious losers protect our democracy. Sore ones undermine it. | Edward McClelland | January 6, 2021 | Washington PostPlus, the rhetorical punch is arguably more powerful coming from the people who helped create the problem, like Justin Rosenstein, co-inventor of Facebook’s “like” button, and Tim Kendall, former president of Pinterest.
Does Social Media Poison Everything? - Facts So Romantic | Scott Koenig | October 6, 2020 | Nautilus
But politicians abhor a rhetorical vacuum, and they have clamored to fill it.
Its rhetorical potential—if it ever had any—has been thoroughly exhausted.
It was a gracious touch, a rhetorical olive branch to his vanquished foes.
Didn't Obama Hear Oregon’s Warning Shot on Immigration? | Doug McIntyre | November 14, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTYet the president uses it for rhetorical vividness—a clarity, as it were.
What Did You Do in the Targeted Action, Daddy? | John McWhorter | September 12, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTBut this new flavor of rhetorical flimflam is still pretty, well, whack.
What Did You Do in the Targeted Action, Daddy? | John McWhorter | September 12, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTThe style of Sallust is brilliant, but his art is always apparent; he is clear and lively, but rhetorical.
Beacon Lights of History, Volume I | John LordTo every one he said a hearty thing, and sometimes touched his greeting off with a bit of poetry or a rhetorical phrase.
When Valmond Came to Pontiac, Complete | Gilbert ParkerLynn was a humored, wayward child, and this cold severity did more to quiet him than an hour's rhetorical pleading.
Alone | Marion HarlandMilton gives us a rhetorical definition in a negative form, which is of equal value, at least, with any authority yet cited.
Thoughts on Educational Topics and Institutions | George S. BoutwellHis clutch on the letter was distinctly inquisitive, and he read out the opening sentences with almost rhetorical effect.
Molly Make-Believe | Eleanor Hallowell Abbott
British Dictionary definitions for rhetorical
/ (rɪˈtɒrɪkəl) /
concerned with effect or style rather than content or meaning; bombastic
of or relating to rhetoric or oratory
Derived forms of rhetorical
- rhetorically, adverb
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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