1
as in wind
language that is impressive-sounding but not meaningful or sincere
the mayor's promise to fight drugs was just rhetoric, since there was no money in the city budget for a drug program
Synonyms & Similar Words
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2
as in poetry
the art or power of speaking or writing in a forceful and convincing way
great leaders have often been masters of rhetoric, which they have used for both good and ill
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of rhetoric
Mayor Brandon Johnson’s racially divisive rhetoric has become a political calling card.
—
Paul Vallas, Chicago Tribune, 11 June 2025
But there are signs that rhetoric around renewable energy has impacted mainstream Republican attitudes.
—Stephanie Hanes, Christian Science Monitor, 11 June 2025
But legal experts say that characterizing Ames as an anti-DEI ruling is more rhetoric than reality.
—Michelle Travis, Forbes.com, 11 June 2025
Historically, tough talk and action trumps cooler rhetoric in politics.
—Lia Russell, Sacbee.com, 10 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for rhetoric
Paul Vallas, Chicago Tribune, 11 June 2025
But there are signs that rhetoric around renewable energy has impacted mainstream Republican attitudes.
—Stephanie Hanes, Christian Science Monitor, 11 June 2025
But legal experts say that characterizing Ames as an anti-DEI ruling is more rhetoric than reality.
—Michelle Travis, Forbes.com, 11 June 2025
Historically, tough talk and action trumps cooler rhetoric in politics.
—Lia Russell, Sacbee.com, 10 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for rhetoric
Recent Examples of Synonyms for rhetoric
Noun
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Residents may experience wind gusts of up to 40 mph.—
NC Weather Bot,
Charlotte Observer,
8 June 2025
-
Expect quarter-sized hail (1 inch) and wind gusts of up to 60 mph.—
CA Weather Bot,
Sacbee.com,
8 June 2025
Noun
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Chaining two of these machines together, Kalma was able to create analog loops of saxophone, church organ, and other instruments, layering them with poetry and found sound in his first original compositions.—
Walden Green,
Pitchfork,
8 June 2025
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Bryant invited author Clint Waters to her shop for a reading of his science fiction and poetry, which feature LGBTQ+ themes.—
Diana Lambdin Meyer,
USA Today,
7 June 2025
Noun
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Beyond that, the show is mostly content to amble along, loping toward the green and from time to time indulging in odd bits of nonsense.—
Tom Gliatto,
People.com,
4 June 2025
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Yet Towns has proven, one moment at a time, that reputation, that narrative is a bunch of nonsense.—
Kristian Winfield,
New York Daily News,
31 May 2025
Noun
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These gases, possibly along with thin icy clouds, reduce the heat escaping into space, making the planet appear cooler and fainter than expected.—
Sharmila Kuthunur,
Space.com,
14 June 2025
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The price of oil makes up about half the price of a gallon of gas, so one of the first things to be affected by rising oil prices would be prices at the pump.—
Medora Lee,
USA Today,
14 June 2025
Noun
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Carefree in motion and charmed by its surroundings, Brandee Younger’s eighth album gets lost in a dreamlike blend of lightweight jazz, classical precision, and the soulfulness of old-school R&B, all anchored by Younger’s graceful harp.—
Nina Corcoran,
Pitchfork,
13 June 2025
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The first concert on June 17 features The American Flyboys Band with jazz, swing, rock n’ roll and Latin rhythms.—
Linda Mcintosh,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
13 June 2025
Noun
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Unlike his small-time Israeli rivals, the placards implied, Netanyahu was a savvy statesman who punched above his weight on the international stage, thanks to his unaccented English oratory and ability to inveigle the world’s most powerful people.—
Yair Rosenberg,
The Atlantic,
22 May 2025
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Darrow, in spite of his powerful oratory, and in spite of outmaneuvering Bryan during their exchange, was up against the fact that Scopes had admitted to teaching evolution, in violation of the Butler Act.—
Dan Falk,
Smithsonian Magazine,
21 May 2025
Noun
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Pearlman thinks that Johnson’s bombast and bizarre stunts are incriminating enough without the need for the documentary to call him out explicitly.—
Charlotte Lytton,
Time,
13 May 2025
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And the score by experimental group Son Lux is a welcome shift away from orchestral bombast into more nuanced territory.—
David Rooney,
HollywoodReporter,
29 Apr. 2025
Noun
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Much of that singularity was centered in McCarthy’s prose, which ricocheted—sometimes gracefully, sometimes jarringly—between gruff matter-of-factness and soaring, biblical grandiloquence.—
Alex Shephard,
The New Republic,
13 June 2023
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Several of them can fly, and all have at least a touch of grandiloquence to them.—
Michael Nordine,
Variety,
11 Aug. 2022
Cite this Entry
“Rhetoric.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/rhetoric. Accessed 18 Jun. 2025.
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