Adjacent Words

Rhetorical definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

RHETOR'ICAL, a.
1. Pertaining to rhetoric; as the rhetorical art.
2. Containing the rules of rhetoric; as a rhetorical treatise.
3. Oratorial; as a rhetorical flourish.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

adj
1: of or relating to rhetoric; "accepted two or three verbal and rhetorical changes I suggested"- W.A.White; "the rhetorical sin of the meaningless variation"- Lewis Mumford
2: given to rhetoric, emphasizing style at the expense of thought; "mere rhetorical frippery" [ant: unrhetorical]

Merriam Webster's

also rhetoric adjective Date: 15th century 1. a. of, relating to, or concerned with rhetoric b. employed for rhetorical effect; especially asked merely for effect with no answer expected <a rhetorical question> 2. a. given to rhetoric ; grandiloquent b. verbal • rhetorically adverb

Oxford Reference Dictionary

adj. 1 expressed with a view to persuasive or impressive effect; artificial or extravagant in language. 2 of the nature of rhetoric. 3 a of or relating to the art of rhetoric. b given to rhetoric; oratorical. Phrases and idioms: rhetorical question a question asked not for information but to produce an effect, e.g. who cares? for nobody cares. Derivatives: rhetorically adv. Etymology: ME f. L rhetoricus f. Gk rhetorikos (as RHETOR)

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Rhetorical Rhe*tor"ic*al, a. [L. rhetoricus, Gr. ????. See Rhetoric.] Of or pertaining to rhetoric; according to, or exhibiting, rhetoric; oratorical; as, the rhetorical art; a rhetorical treatise; a rhetorical flourish. They permit him to leave their poetical taste ungratified, provided that he gratifies their rhetorical sense. --M. Arnold. -- Rhe*tor"ic*al*ly, adv. -- Rhe*tor"ic*al*ness, n.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

1. A rhetorical question is one which is asked in order to make a statement rather than to get an answer. He grimaced slightly, obviously expecting no answer to his rhetorical question... ADJ: usu ADJ n • rhetorically 'Do these kids know how lucky they are?' Jackson asked rhetorically. ADV: ADV with v 2. Rhetorical language is intended to be grand and impressive. (FORMAL) These arguments may have been used as a rhetorical device to argue for a perpetuation of a United Nations role. ADJ: usu ADJ n • rhetorically Suddenly, the narrator speaks in his most rhetorically elevated mode. ADV

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

a. 1. Oratorical. 2. Declamatory, highly wrought.

Moby Thesaurus

Gongoresque, Johnsonian, affected, articulate, artificial, aureate, bedizened, big-sounding, bombastic, chichi, contrived, convoluted, declamatory, elevated, elocutionary, eloquent, embellished, euphuistic, exaggerated, expressive, extravagant, flamboyant, flaming, flashy, flaunting, florid, flowery, fluent, for effect, forensic, fulsome, fustian, garish, gassy, gaudy, glib, grand, grandiloquent, grandiose, grandisonant, high-flowing, high-flown, high-flying, high-sounding, highfalutin, imposing, inflated, inkhorn, labyrinthine, lexiphanic, linguistic, lofty, long-winded, lurid, magniloquent, meretricious, mouthy, oratorical, ornate, orotund, ostentatious, overblown, overdone, overelaborate, overinvolved, overwrought, pedantic, poetic, pompous, pretentious, prolix, purple, sensational, sensationalistic, sententious, sesquipedalian, showy, sonorous, stilted, stylistic, swelling, swollen, tall, tortuous, tumescent, tumid, turgid, unanswerable, vocal, voluble, windy, wordy