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Meaning of rhetorical in English

  1. Pronunciation

    /rəˈtɔrək(ə)l/

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  1. Qualitative Adjective

    rhetorical

    Etymology

    late Middle English (first used in the sense ‘eloquently expressed’): via Latin from Greek rhētorikos (from rhētor‘rhetor’) + -al

    Definitions

    1. of or relating to rhetoric

    Examples

    • « accepted two or three verbal and rhetorical changes I suggested- W.A.White »
    • « the rhetorical sin of the meaningless variation- Lewis Mumford »
  2. 2. concerned with effect or style of writing and speaking

    Examples

    • « a rhetorical question is one asked solely to produce an effect (especially to make an assertion) rather than to elicit a reply »

    Synonyms

    • anapestic
    • anapaestic
    • bombastic
    • declamatory
    • large
    • orotund
    • tumid
    • turgid
    • flowery
    • ornate
    • forensic
    • grandiloquent
    • magniloquent
    • tall
    • oratorical
    • stylistic
    • embellished
    • empurpled
    • over-embellished
    • purple
    • poetic
    • poetical

    Antonyms

    • unrhetorical

See also

  • fancy
  • figurative
  • formal

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