rhetoric - Wiktionary, the free dictionary
English
Noun
rhetoric (countable and uncountable, plural rhetorics)
- The art of using language, especially public speaking, as a means to persuade.
- ✤ Transport Minister Marples, meanwhile, used arrogant rhetoric and showed his personal contempt for railways when confirming in Parliament that a third of the network was to be closed even before the survey results were known.1
- ✤ “As soon as I am inaugurated, I will direct the Justice Department to vigorously pursue the death penalty to protect American families and children from violent rapists, murderers, and monsters. We will be a Nation of Law and Order again!” Trump wrote on Truth Social, echoing his long-standing advocacy for use of the death penalty, which was part of his tough-on-crime rhetoric during the 2024 campaign.2
- (sometimes derogatory) Meaningless language with an exaggerated style intended to impress.
- ✤ It’s only so much rhetoric.
Adjective
rhetoric
- Synonym of rhetorical.
Etymology 1
Inherited from Middle English rhetorik, rhetoric, borrowed from Old French rhetorique, borrowed from Latin rhētorica, borrowed from Ancient Greek ῥητορικὴ (rhētorikḕ), ellipsis of ῥητορῐκή τέχνη (rhētorĭkḗ tékhnē).
Pronunciation
- IPA: /ˈɹɛtəɹɪk/
- Audio (Southern England): 🔊
- (also) IPA: /ɹɪˈtɒɹɪk/
Etymology 2
Inherited from Middle English rhetorik, borrowed from Old French rhetorique, borrowed from Latin rhētoricus, borrowed from Ancient Greek ῥητορικός (rhētorikós), from ῥήτωρ (rhḗtōr, “public speaker”) + -ῐκός (-ĭkós). By surface analysis, rhetor + -ic.
Pronunciation
- IPA: /ɹɪˈtɒɹɪk/
- Audio (Southern England): 🔊
Printed 2026-09-04.
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