Primary
''rhetorical'' ▫ᴱᴺ｜Definition｜1st｜20260904152658-00-⌔
rhetorical - Wiktionary, the free dictionary
English
Adjective
rhetorical (not comparable)
- Part of or similar to rhetoric, the use of language as a means to persuade.
- Not earnest, or presented only for the purpose of an argument.
- ✤ Unfortunately, she has used the attack as a launch pad for a bizarre and undercooked exercise in rhetorical bothsidesism, in which she argues that American Jews should be just as worried about college students who overzealously criticize Israel as they are about the aspiring Einsatzgruppen who shoot up shuls.1
- (of a question) Asked for dramatic or persuasive effect, rather than to get an answer.
- ✤ ‘“Are you an idiot? Actually, don’t answer that, it was rhetorical.”
Noun
rhetorical (plural rhetoricals)
- (education, dated) A study or exercise in rhetoric.
Etymology
From Middle English rethorycal, rethoricalle, rethorycall, from rethorik, rhetoric (noun) or Latin rēthoricus, rhētoricus, from Ancient Greek ῥητορικός (rhētorikós, “concerning public speaking”). By surface analysis, rhetoric + -al.
Pronunciation
Printed 2026-09-04.
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Link to original Footnotes
2019 September 6, Jordan Weissman, “How Not to Fight Anti-Semitism”, in Slate : ↩
Secondary
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