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Definition of rhetoric
1 : the art of speaking or writing effectively: such asa : the study of principles and rules of composition formulated by critics of ancient timesb : the study of writing or speaking as a means of communication or persuasion
2a : skill in the effective use of speechb : a type or mode of language or speech; also : insincere or grandiloquent language
From the M-W Editors
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 of rhetoric from the Web
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Most were forwards and simply inflammatory rhetoric, which was easily refuted.
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Most were forwards and simply inflammatory rhetoric, which was easily refuted.
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Most were forwards and simply inflammatory rhetoric, which was easily refuted.
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So what does Ahmed think of all the anti-immigrant, anti-refugee rhetoric swirling around these days?
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President Donald Trump's contentious, anti-immigrant rhetoric, for example, touched on many of the frustrations felt most acutely by rural Americans.
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Again, however, the reality is less inspiring than the rhetoric.
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Underlying the inflammatory rhetoric has been a year of strife and discord at the state’s smallest public four-year college, a liberal-arts bastion with a counterculture pedigree.
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Many blame the current political rhetoric for stoking anti-Muslim sentiments.
These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'rhetoric'. Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Origin and Etymology of rhetoric
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
Other Grammar and Linguistics Terms
RHETORIC Defined for English Language Learners
rhetoric
playDefinition of rhetoric for English Language Learners
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: language that is intended to influence people and that may not be honest or reasonable
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: the art or skill of speaking or writing formally and effectively especially as a way to persuade or influence people
Learn More about rhetoric
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Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for rhetoric Spanish Central: Translation of rhetoric Nglish: Translation of rhetoric for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of rhetoric for Arabic speakers Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about rhetoric
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