Everyday · Arguing & persuading · Talking & language
Rhetoric: meaning, pronunciation and examples
Rhetoric noun. The art of speaking or writing persuasively.
How to say it
RET-uh-rik/ˈrɛtərɪk/
3 syllables, stressed on the first (RET).
Meanings
- The art of speaking or writing persuasively.
- Language meant to impress or persuade but lacking sincerity or substance.
Rhetoric in a sentence
Students of rhetoric still study how Lincoln built the Gettysburg Address.
Behind the soaring rhetoric there was very little actual policy.
Similar and opposite
Similar:
- oratory
- eloquence
- bombast
- grandiloquence
Where rhetoric comes from
From Greek rhētorikē tekhnē, the art of the public speaker, from rhētōr, orator.
Test yourself
Which word fills the gap?
Behind the soaring _____ there was very little actual policy.
- rhetoric
- ratiocination
- rationale
Show the answer
rhetoric: Behind the soaring rhetoric there was very little actual policy.