rhetoric
pronunciation
How to pronounce rhetoric in British English:
UK [ˈretərɪk]
How to pronounce rhetoric in American English:
US [ˈretərɪk]
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- Noun:
- using language effectively to please or persuade
- high flown style; excessive use of verbal ornamentation
- loud and confused and empty talk
- study of the technique and rules for using language effectively (especially in public speaking)
Word Origin
- rhetoric
- rhetoric: [14] In ancient Greece, a rhétōr was a ‘public speaker’, an ‘orator’. The word went back to a prehistoric Indo-European base *wer- ‘speak, say’, which also produced English verb and word. From it was derived the adjective rhētorikós, which passed into English as a noun via Latin rhētorica and Old French rethorique.=> verb, word
- rhetoric (n.)
- early 14c., from Old French rethorique, from Latin rhetorice, from Greek rhetorike techne "art of an orator," from rhetor (genitive rhetoros) "speaker, orator, teacher of rhetoric," related to rhesis "speech," rhema "word, phrase, verb," literally "that which is spoken," from PIE *wre-tor-, from root *were- (3) "to speak" (cognates: Old English word, Latin verbum, Greek eirein "to say;" see verb).
Example
- 1. Migration rules are off-putting and the political rhetoric unwelcoming .
- 2. As greek protests continued this week , european leaders ratcheted up the rhetoric .
- 3. You may have learned something about rhetoric and debate .
- 4. For all its stirring rhetoric , the government 's record on renewable energy is poor .
- 5. It has increased its rhetoric about the need for china to fix its exchange rate .