rhetorician

noun

rhet·​o·​ri·​cian ˌre-tə-ˈri-shən How to pronounce rhetorician (audio)
1
a
: a master or teacher of rhetoric
b
: orator
2
: an eloquent or grandiloquent writer or speaker

Examples of rhetorician in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Augustine was a first-rate rhetorician. Aaron Alexander Zubia, WSJ, 4 Nov. 2022 The responsible party leader appeared as a cruel tyrant, the inspiring rhetorician as a vicious demagogue. Corey Robin, The New Yorker, 13 Mar. 2021 Disability rhetorician Jay Dolmage has repeatedly invoked Hephaestus in his work. Autumn Wright, Wired, 16 Jan. 2021 While Simmons built alliances and Daniels kept up a drumbeat of virulently racist cartoons and editorials full of misinformation throughout the run-up to the election of November 8, 1898, Waddell was the rhetorician of this movement. David W. Blight, The New York Review of Books, 3 Nov. 2020 But the rhetorician in me sees insights in Ancient Greece. Aaron Duncan, The Conversation, 29 Oct. 2020 But Magufuli’s Covid-19 response is bringing to the fore another, often overlooked perspective: the president as politician and rhetorician. Dan Paget, Quartz Africa, 13 May 2020 In one of the show's most mesmerizing moments, the tension ballooned as Lalo made Jimmy repeat his false account over and over, before Kim transformed from chilled onlooker into forceful rhetorician. Dan Snierson, EW.com, 14 Apr. 2020 Make no mistake: David Bentley Hart is an able rhetorician and polemicist. Nicholas Frankovich, National Review, 12 Sep. 2019

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'rhetorician.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Time Traveler
The first known use of rhetorician was in the 15th century

Dictionary Entries Near rhetorician

Cite this Entry

“Rhetorician.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/rhetorician. Accessed 18 Mar. 2024.

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