rhetoric

rhet·o·ric

R0218000 (rĕt′ər-ĭk)n.1. a. The art or study of using language effectively and persuasively.b. A treatise or book discussing this art.2. Skill in using language effectively and persuasively.3. a. A style of speaking or writing, especially the language of a particular subject: fiery political rhetoric.b. Language that is elaborate, pretentious, insincere, or intellectually vacuous: His offers of compromise were mere rhetoric.4. Verbal communication; discourse.

[Middle English rethorik, from Old French rethorique, from Latin rhētoricē, rhētorica, from Greek rhētorikē (tekhnē), rhetorical (art), feminine of rhētorikos, rhetorical, from rhētōr, rhetor; see rhetor.]

rhetoric

(ˈrɛtərɪk) n1. (Rhetoric) the study of the technique of using language effectively2. (Rhetoric) the art of using speech to persuade, influence, or please; oratory3. excessive use of ornamentation and contrivance in spoken or written discourse; bombast4. speech or discourse that pretends to significance but lacks true meaning: all the politician says is mere rhetoric. [C14: via Latin from Greek rhētorikē (tekhnē) (the art of) rhetoric, from rhētōr rhetor]

rhet•o•ric

(ˈrɛt ər ɪk)

n. 1. a. the art of effectively using language, including the use of figures of speech. b. language skillfully used. c. a book or treatise on rhetoric. 2. the undue use of exaggerated language; bombast. 3. the art of prose writing. 4. the art of persuasive speaking; oratory. [1300–50; Middle English rethorik < Medieval Latin rēthorica, Latin rhētorica < Greek rhētorikḕ (téchnē) rhetorical (art); see rhetor, -ic]

rhetoric

rhetor - A teacher of rhetoric or a master of it.
climax - First described propositions in rhetoric, one rising above the other in effectiveness; it comes from Greek klimax, "ladder."
demagoguery, demagogy - Demagoguery and demagogy are the practices or rhetoric of a demagogue.
scheme - From Greek skhema, "figure, form," it first referred to a figure of speech, especially a figure of rhetoric, denoting a way of deviating from the ordinary use and order of words to create special effect.

Thesaurus

Noun	1.	rhetoric - using language effectively to please or persuadeexpressive style, style - a way of expressing something (in language or art or music etc.) that is characteristic of a particular person or group of people or period; "all the reporters were expected to adopt the style of the newspaper"rhetorical device - a use of language that creates a literary effect (but often without regard for literal significance)
	2.	rhetoric - high-flown style; excessive use of verbal ornamentation; "the grandiosity of his prose"; "an excessive ornateness of language"grandiloquence, grandiosity, magniloquence, ornatenessflourish - a display of ornamental speech or languageexpressive style, style - a way of expressing something (in language or art or music etc.) that is characteristic of a particular person or group of people or period; "all the reporters were expected to adopt the style of the newspaper"blah, bombast, claptrap, fustian, rant - pompous or pretentious talk or writing
	3.	rhetoric - loud and confused and empty talk; "mere rhetoric"empty talk, empty words, hot air, palaverhokum, meaninglessness, nonsense, nonsensicality, bunk - a message that seems to convey no meaning
	4.	rhetoric - study of the technique and rules for using language effectively (especially in public speaking)literary study - the humanistic study of literatureexordium - (rhetoric) the introductory section of an oration or discoursenarration - (rhetoric) the second section of an oration in which the facts are set forthperoration - (rhetoric) the concluding section of an oration; "he summarized his main points in his peroration"rhetorical device - a use of language that creates a literary effect (but often without regard for literal significance)epanodos - repetition of a group of words in reverse orderepanodos - recapitulation of the main ideas of a speech (especially in reverse order)ploce - (rhetoric) repetition to gain special emphasis or extend meaningallocution - (rhetoric) a formal or authoritative address that advises or exhortsanacoluthic - of or related to syntactic inconsistencies of the sort known as anacoluthons

rhetoric

noun1. hyperbole, rant, hot air (informal), pomposity, bombast, wordiness, verbosity, fustian, grandiloquence, magniloquence He has continued his warlike rhetoric.2. oratory, eloquence, public speaking, speech-making, elocution, declamation, speechifying, grandiloquence, spieling (informal) the noble institutions, such as political rhetoric

rhetoric

nounThe art of public speaking:declamation, elocution, oratory.

Translations

retoricauna domanda retoricaredekunderetoricaretoriekretorikkреторикариторика

rhetoric

rhetoric:

see oratoryoratory,
the art of swaying an audience by eloquent speech. In ancient Greece and Rome oratory was included under the term rhetoric, which meant the art of composing as well as delivering a speech.
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Rhetoric

the study of oratory and prose in general. Rhetoric as an art originated in Greece in the fifth century B.C. and was reduced to a system in the third and second centuries B.C. Roman oratory dates from the first century B.C. The greatest theoreticians of ancient rhetoric were Aristotle, Cicero, and Quintilian.

Classic rhetoric was divided into five parts: invention, arrangement, verbal expression, memorization, and delivery. Invention is the systematization of the contents and proofs of a speech. Arrangement is the division of a speech into the introduction exposition, elaboration—proofs to support one’s own point of view and refutations of the arguments of one’s opponent—and conclusion. Verbal expression is the choice and combination of words, figures of speech, and rhetorical devices and—depending on the use of these elements—the choice of the simple, middle, or high style of speech.

Classical rhetoric, which was oriented primarily toward legal and ceremonial speeches, was studied in the Middle Ages mainly for the purpose of writing letters and sermons. During the Renaissance and the period of classicism, classical rhetoric was brought to bear on all types of prose. In Russia, the classical treatment of this “pervasive” rhetoric was given by M. V. Lomonosov in A Short Handbook on Eloquence (1748). Rhetoric was part of an education in the humanities until the 19th century, when its main component—verbal expression—merged with stylistics as part of the theory of literature and the remaining components lost their practical significance. The word “rhetoric” itself has taken on the offensive connotation of pompous and empty speech.

REFERENCES

Cicero. Tri traktata ob oratorskom iskusstve. Moscow, 1972.
Antichnye teorii iazyka i stilia. Edited by O. Freidenberg. Moscow-Leningrad, 1936.
Lausberg, H. Handbuch der literarischen Rhetorik, vols. 1-2. Munich, 1960.
Martin, J. Antike Rhetorik. Munich, 1974.

M. L. GASPAROV

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Synonyms for rhetoric

noun hyperbole

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noun oratory

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Synonyms for rhetoric

noun the art of public speaking

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Synonyms for rhetoric

noun using language effectively to please or persuade

Related Words

noun high-flown style

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Related Words

noun loud and confused and empty talk

Synonyms

Related Words

noun study of the technique and rules for using language effectively (especially in public speaking)

Related Words