stylistics

American  

[stahy-lis-tiks] / staɪˈlɪs tɪks /

noun

(used with a singular verb)

1. the study and description of the choices of linguistic expression that are characteristic of a group or an individual in specific communicative settings, especially in literary works.

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stylistics British  

/ staɪˈlɪstɪks /

noun

1. (functioning as singular or plural) a branch of linguistics concerned with the study of characteristic choices in use of language, esp literary language, as regards sound, form, or vocabulary, made by different individuals or social groups in different situations of use

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Other Word Forms

• stylistician noun

Etymology

Origin of stylistics

First recorded in 1840–50; stylistic, -ics

Example Sentences

Dressed in white-and-silver paisley-print jackets glittering under the late-afternoon sun, the members of the Stylistics steadied themselves as a rotating stage carried them before an audience gathered on the blacktop outside Inglewood’s SoFi Stadium.

From Los Angeles Times

"The fact that the directors lean heavily on TikTok stylistics and faux-phone recordings for a lot of their numbers makes sense on the page, since that's how so much musical content gets created and consumed these days," he said.

From BBC

Thom Bell, the prolific producer, songwriter and arranger who, as an architect of the lush Philadelphia sound of the late 1960s and ’70s, was a driving force behind landmark R&B recordings by the Spinners, the Delfonics and the Stylistics, died on Thursday at his home in Bellingham, Wash. He was 79.

From New York Times

For “You Are Everything,” a Stylistics hit which opens with “Today I saw somebody/Who looked just like you/She walked like you do,” inspiration was found during a break from recording.

From Washington Times

A native of Jamaica who moved to Philadelphia as a child, Thom Bell drew upon the classical influences of his youth and such favorite composers as Oscar-winner Ennio Morricone in adding a kind of cinematic scale and grandeur to the gospel-styled harmonies of the Spinners, Stylistics, Delfonics and other groups.

From Washington Times