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