rhetoric

noun

rhet·​o·​ric ˈre-tə-rik 

1

: the art of speaking or writing effectively: such as

a

: the study of principles and rules of composition formulated by critics of ancient times

classical rhetoric

b

: the study of writing or speaking as a means of communication or persuasion

students/scholars of rhetoric

took a college course in rhetoric

2

a

: skill in the effective use of speech

b

: a type or mode of language or speech

angry rhetoric

also : insincere or grandiloquent language

the rhetoric of politics

a speech free of empty rhetoric

… Julius Caesar is a highly rhetorical play, a play that both deploys rhetoric for dramatic purposes and investigates the consequences of its deployment for political purposes.

—Stanley Wells

3

: verbal communication : discourse

… knowledge is what ensues when rhetoric is successful, when rhetorician and audience reach agreement.

—Patricia Bizzell

Synonyms of rhetoric

• wind
• nonsense
• gas
• jazz
• oratory
• bombast
• fustian
• grandiloquence

Examples of rhetoric in a Sentence

The media almost never discuss what the sweeping dismantling of public services inherent in the rhetoric of the antigovernment movement would mean in practice. —E. J. Dionne, Jr., Commonweal, 20 Nov. 2009

What they are in reality are the romantic words of a man who needs glorious rhetoric to cover up murderous reality. —Pete Hamill, Cosmopolitan, April 1976

No speech could have been more thoroughly honest in its intention: the frigid rhetoric at the end was as sincere as the bark of a dog, or the cawing of an amorous rook. —George Eliot, Middlemarch, 1872

Otherwise he might have been a great general, blowing up all sorts of towns, or he might have been a great politician, dealing in all sorts of parliamentary rhetoric; but as it was, he and the Court of Chancery had fallen upon each other in the pleasantest way, and nobody was much the worse … —Charles Dickens, Bleak House, 1852-53

a college course in rhetoric

the mayor's promise to fight drugs was just rhetoric, since there was no money in the city budget for a drug program

Recent Examples on the Web

The big test over the next few days will be whether global leaders work together to forge a path toward de-escalation, or if the harsh rhetoric ratchets up even further. —Jeff Marks, CNBC, 20 Jan. 2026

Trump's escalating rhetoric ratcheted up even further over the weekend, and may reignite a trade war with Europe and upend the decades-old NATO alliance. —Phaedra Trethan, USA Today, 20 Jan. 2026

Advertisement The history of American rhetoric versus action in the Middle East is long and bitter. —Bobby Ghosh, Time, 20 Jan. 2026

During her 2024 campaign in Missouri, social media giant Meta suspended her accounts for violating its policies governing violent rhetoric and hate speech directed at Muslims and the LBGTQ community. —John C. Moritz, Austin American Statesman, 20 Jan. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Middle English rethorik, from Anglo-French rethorique, from Latin rhetorica, from Greek rhētorikē, literally, art of oratory, from feminine of rhētorikos of an orator, from rhētōr orator, rhetorician, from eirein to say, speak — more at word

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

rhetoric

noun

rhet·​o·​ric ˈret-ə-rik 

1

: the art of speaking or writing effectively

2

: the study or use of the principles and rules of composition

3

a

: skill in the effective use of speech

b

: language that is not honest, sincere, or meaningful

rhetorician

ˌret-ə-ˈrish-ən

noun