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rhetoric

noun

ˈre-tə-rik How to pronounce rhetoric (audio)
Definition of rhetoricnext
1
as in wind
language that is impressive-sounding but not meaningful or sincere the mayor's promise to fight drugs was just rhetoric, since there was no money in the city budget for a drug program

Synonyms & Similar Words

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2
as in poetry
the art or power of speaking or writing in a forceful and convincing way great leaders have often been masters of rhetoric, which they have used for both good and ill

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of rhetoric Although political rhetoric against Muslims in Texas has become increasingly hostile — some GOP lawmakers even discussed a ban on halal food — pitmasters like Abdul-Kafi see the rise of halal barbecue as an effective counterargument. — Ulaa Kuziez, NPR, 6 Sep. 2026 Some Republican leaders also have used rhetoric and pushed policies that have come under criticism by Muslim Americans and others. — Brieanna J. Frank, USA Today, 6 Sep. 2026 Rehiring Stan Verrett, who had employed much of the same racial rhetoric as Clark, could help Magnus refute that narrative. — Bobby Burack Outkick, FOXNews.com, 4 Sep. 2026 The six-page document did not exactly pulse with fiery rhetoric. — Ruth Marcus, New Yorker, 4 Sep. 2026 See All Example Sentences for rhetoric
Recent Examples of Synonyms for rhetoric
  1. wind
  2. poetry
  3. nonsense
  4. gas
  5. jazz
  6. oratory
  7. bombast
  8. grandiloquence
Noun
  • Critics argue that such a move would crowd out other resources, such as solar and wind generators, from participating in the program.
    — John Moritz, Hartford Courant, 18 Sep. 2026
  • The weather service warned that stronger thunderstorms on Saturday also could bring gusty winds, frequent lightning and heavy downpours.
    — Juan Ortega, Sun Sentinel, 18 Sep. 2026
Definition of wind
Noun
  • Most of the books were published between the nineteen-seventies and the twenty-tens, and the genres spanned history, biography, fiction, poetry, literary criticism, law, and the social sciences.
    — Francesca Mancino, New Yorker, 8 Sep. 2026
  • This reputation is tied to the biting wit and unruly imagination found across his prose, poetry and political writings.
    — Dónal Gill, The Dial, 8 Sep. 2026
Definition of poetry
Noun
  • The other two, the no-nonsense Clara (Ayanna Nicole Thomas) and the all-nonsense Farley (Gabriel Marcus Omlor), have a subplot of their own.
    — Christopher Arnott, Hartford Courant, 18 Sep. 2026
  • Ziegler says his team may find that a model produces nonsense under an unusual formatting request or that an external safety checker needs to intervene more frequently.
    — Barbara Booth, CNBC, 16 Sep. 2026
Definition of nonsense
Noun
  • Qatar shares the world’s largest natural-gas field with Iran, but has also backed the opposition to Iran’s allies in the Syrian government.
    — Ruth Margalit, New Yorker, 19 Sep. 2026
  • Trump currently faces mounting pressure over a highly unpopular war in Iran, along with rising gas prices and concerns about the cost of living.
    — Brian Stelter, CNN Money, 19 Sep. 2026
Definition of gas
Noun
  • This spring, a second ship, AmaMelodia, is formally christened, doubling capacity on a route between Cartagena and Barranquilla through jazz towns, a UNESCO World Heritage city, and some of the richest bird-watching corridors on the continent.
    — Condé Nast Traveler, Condé Nast Traveler, 18 Sep. 2026
  • Numerous milestones, from Peart studying with jazz player Freddie Gruber and reinventing his playing style to writing Ghost Rider, a memoir about riding motorcycles and grieving the loss of his wife and daughter, are dotted along the way.
    — David Fear, Rolling Stone, 17 Sep. 2026
Definition of jazz
Noun
  • The painting, which had hung in the oratory for more than three centuries, has never been recovered.
    — Miranda Jeyaretnam, Time, 17 Aug. 2026
  • Towering above Tomar is its castle, with an Oz-like oratory built 800 years ago.
    — Tribune Content Agency, Baltimore Sun, 12 Aug. 2026
Definition of oratory
Noun
  • All the bombast and charisma of the music and the persona were made to feel depressingly small.
    — Jeff Weiss, HollywoodReporter, 1 Sep. 2026
  • The problem with the abstract expressionists’ relentless courting of the sublime was that the process of distillation produced too much bombast.
    — Sebastian Smee, The Atlantic, 27 Aug. 2026
Definition of bombast
Noun
  • Much of that singularity was centered in McCarthy’s prose, which ricocheted—sometimes gracefully, sometimes jarringly—between gruff matter-of-factness and soaring, biblical grandiloquence.
    — Alex Shephard, The New Republic, 13 June 2023
  • Several of them can fly, and all have at least a touch of grandiloquence to them.
    — Michael Nordine, Variety, 11 Aug. 2022
Definition of grandiloquence

Browse Nearby Words

rhapsody
rhetoric
rhetorical
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Cite this Entry

“Rhetoric.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/rhetoric. Accessed 20 Sep. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on rhetoric

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about rhetoric

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