rhetorical

C2 Topic:Describing Qualities

US /ɹɪˈtɔɹɪkəl/ UK /ɹɪˈtɒɹ.ɪ.kəl/ See IPA manual

Freq #18432

Meanings

1

adj
Asked only to make a point, without expecting any answer.

"Who could possibly disagree?" he said, asking a purely rhetorical question.
2

adj
Relating to the art of persuasive speaking and writing.

The speech was full of clever rhetorical techniques like repetition and contrast.
3

adj
Emphasizing impressive style at the expense of real substance.

His essay was mere rhetorical decoration with no genuine ideas behind it.

Thesaurus

Word family

Derived forms antirhetoricalmusicorhetoricalnonrhetoricalretardicalrhetoricalityrhetoricallyrhetoricalnessunrhetorical

Related forms rhetoric

Appears in

Phrases (1)

See all

rhetorical question
a question asked to make a point rather than obtain an answer

Adjective + noun

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.

rethorycal Middle English rēthoricus Latin ῥητορικός Ancient Greek

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Describing Qualities Language & Linguistics Word Formation & Derivatives

External links

# rhetorical

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2
**Part of speech:** adj
**IPA (US):** /ɹɪˈtɔɹɪkəl/
**IPA (UK):** /ɹɪˈtɒɹ.ɪ.kəl/
**Frequency rank:** 18432

## Meanings
1. Asked only to make a point, without expecting any answer.
2. Relating to the art of persuasive speaking and writing.
3. Emphasizing impressive style at the expense of real substance.

## Examples
- "Who could possibly disagree?" he said, asking a purely rhetorical question.
- The speech was full of clever rhetorical techniques like repetition and contrast.
- His essay was mere rhetorical decoration with no genuine ideas behind it.

## Derived Forms
- antirhetorical
- musicorhetorical
- nonrhetorical
- retardical
- rhetoricality
- rhetorically
- rhetoricalness
- unrhetorical

## Related Forms
- rhetoric

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: rethorycal
- Root: rēthoricus
- Root: ῥητορικός

## 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.

## AI Etymology
Rhetorical is 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. The analysis is mainly morphological: the modern adjectival form is built from the named base and affix. Important recorded forms include rethorycal (Middle English), rēthoricus (Latin), and ῥητορικός (Ancient Greek). Current senses include asked only to make a point, without expecting any answer, relating to the art of persuasive speaking and writing, and emphasizing impressive style at the expense of real substance. The wider family includes derived forms such as antirhetorical, musicorhetorical, nonrhetorical, retardical, and rhetoricality and related words such as rhetoric.

## Topics
- Describing Qualities
- Language & Linguistics
- Word Formation & Derivatives

markdown