Meaning of rhetoric in English

rhetoric

noun [ U ]

/ˈret̬.ɚ.ɪk/ uk

/ˈret.ər.ɪk/

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speech or writing intended to be effective and influence people:

How far the president will be able to translate his campaign rhetoric into action remains to be seen.

I was swayed by her rhetoric into donating all my savings to the charity.

language specialized

the study of the ways of using language effectively

disapproving

clever language that sounds good but is not sincere or has no real meaning:

In reply to the question, he just produced a lot of empty (= meaningless) rhetoric.

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He has toned down his rhetoric of late.
This isn't just rhetoric.
That may sound like rhetoric, a wild exaggeration.
Before long, the same political rhetoric was repeated.
Without a coherent set of policies to persuade the electorate, the Republicans have resorted to sloganeering and empty rhetoric.

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(Definition of rhetoric from the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary & Thesaurus © Cambridge University Press)

rhetoric | Intermediate English

rhetoric

noun [ U ]

/ˈret̬·ər·ɪk/

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speech or writing that is effective and persuasive

literature

Rhetoric is also the art of speaking and writing effectively, or the study of this art.

rhetorical

adjective us

/rɪˈtɔr·ɪ·kəl, -ˈtɑr-/

(Definition of rhetoric from the Cambridge Academic Content Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)

Examples of rhetoric

rhetoric

She heard all the ugly rhetoric and decided to act on it.

From Huffington Post

All the rhetoric that's going on with candidates is so selfish -- they are only after what they can gain.

From OregonLive.com

When anti-science rhetoric puts people in danger, it's important to talk about it.

From Slate Magazine

Some of the rhetoric from two years earlier has re-emerged, such as warnings of a government takeover of health care.

From CNN

It could put an end to the rhetoric.

From CNN

It's possible that this rhetoric has driven the unbalanced who are looking for direction and the uneducated/unaware who simply don't know any better.

From CNN

Which came first: the rhetoric, or the violence?

From Huffington Post

For instance, does the rhetoric about closing the achievement gap or improving math and science education match up with where the money is going?

From TIME

Since 2005, moving from rhetoric to effective practice has had its difficulties, and plenty remain.

From Foreign Policy

But the speech is more than a master class in rhetoric.

From ThinkProgress

That general attitude -- along with the voting records and "war on coal" rhetoric of the state's politicians -- trickles down to the community.

From ThinkProgress

Some of the anti-youth rhetoric gets wrapped up in language about "protecting" our youth.

From TIME

It's because of that rhetoric, of fear mongering.

From NPR

The rhetoric on climate change has been heating up as fast as global temperatures, and it's a shame.

From Huffington Post

But in recent years there has been a dissenting note to this feel-good rhetoric.

From The Atlantic

These examples are from corpora and from sources on the web. Any opinions in the examples do not represent the opinion of the Cambridge Dictionary editors or of Cambridge University Press or its licensors.

Collocations with rhetoric

rhetoric

These are words often used in combination with rhetoric.

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classical rhetoric

Furthermore, it is based on a restricted notion of style - that of classical rhetoric.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

empty rhetoric

Talk of direct payments as empowering would look rather like empty rhetoric.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

mere rhetoric

One or two begin with loud tuttis, but thereafter eschew mere rhetoric.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

See all collocations with rhetoric

What is the pronunciation of rhetoric?

Translations of rhetoric

in Chinese (Traditional)

雄辯言辭, 煽動性語言, 修辭（學）…

Meaning of rhetoric in English

rhetoric | Intermediate English

rhetorical

Examples of rhetoric

Collocations with rhetoric

rhetoric

Translations of rhetoric

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