variants
also rhetoric
1
as in oratorical
marked by the use of impressive-sounding but mostly meaningless words and phrases
you can skip over the rhetorical passages and still get the gist of the essay
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in ornate
full of fine words and fancy expressions
the new governor delivered a long rhetorical speech about our state's bright future but laid out no specific programs for ensuring it
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in linguistic
of or relating to words or language
the next war that those two nations fight won't be rhetorical—it will be with bombs and bullets
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
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Recent Examples of rhetorical
Such rhetoric shifts focus away from the perpetrator and the broader failures that allow violent crime to persist.
—
Chicago Tribune, 26 Mar. 2026
There’s a familiar rhetorical pattern to retirement announcements by most members of Congress.
—David Mark, The Washington Examiner, 20 Mar. 2026
Its strength lies in the creation of characters who, although sometimes forced to function stiffly as rhetorical mouthpieces, seem genuinely conflicted and caught off guard by the brutal interventions of history.
—Justin Chang, New Yorker, 20 Mar. 2026
Such rhetorical tactics proved crucial in making meditation accessible to global audiences.
—Daniel M. Stuart, The Conversation, 16 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for rhetorical
Chicago Tribune, 26 Mar. 2026
There’s a familiar rhetorical pattern to retirement announcements by most members of Congress.
—David Mark, The Washington Examiner, 20 Mar. 2026
Its strength lies in the creation of characters who, although sometimes forced to function stiffly as rhetorical mouthpieces, seem genuinely conflicted and caught off guard by the brutal interventions of history.
—Justin Chang, New Yorker, 20 Mar. 2026
Such rhetorical tactics proved crucial in making meditation accessible to global audiences.
—Daniel M. Stuart, The Conversation, 16 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for rhetorical
Recent Examples of Synonyms for rhetorical
Adjective
-
That wasn’t Newsom’s only oratorical slip-up, although the second one says more about the larger Democratic Party than anything else.—
Douglas Schoen,
Oc Register,
26 Feb. 2026
-
With his height and his oratorical flourishes, Jackson was a charismatic figure who led protests in Greensboro.—
Johanna Neuman,
Los Angeles Times,
17 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
As for the ornate headwear, seersucker suits, and profusion of pastels that usually accompany this horse race, well, that’s your call.—
Devra Ferst,
Bon Appetit Magazine,
3 Apr. 2026
-
Instead, think of the hyper-realistic ornate floral rugs your mom might’ve had sometime in the '90s or early 2000s.—
Cori Sears,
The Spruce,
3 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
Perhaps Rousseau should get credit for not using AI to mask his lack of linguistic fluency.—
Phil Wahba,
Fortune,
30 Mar. 2026
-
Nitsuh Abebe on Pete Hegeth’s linguistic obsession.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
30 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
The bishops further authorized a new edition of the Roman Pontifical for pontifical Masses, expected to be completed by 2027, with Vatican approval pending for some rites, according to the Catholic News Agency.—
Jordan King,
MSNBC Newsweek,
13 Nov. 2025
-
In its report, the pontifical commission highlights failures in the Italian church.—
Christopher Lamb,
CNN Money,
16 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
Hulu set the mood for the evening when two dozen young women, dressed in their Gilead wife-training school’s purple uniforms, walked in solemn unison down the carpet, each carrying a small pie and boarding a bus with curtains covering the windows.—
Alex Cramer,
HollywoodReporter,
1 Apr. 2026
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Satellite imagery turned the abstract threat into visceral geography — terrifying technicolor maps showed a deep purple bruise spreading over the South Pole.—
Big Think,
Big Think,
31 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
Physically frail, yet in full verbal command, Julian doesn’t talk to Lori so much as at her, pausing only to fire off questions that harden, in midair, into assumptions.—
Justin Chang,
New Yorker,
3 Apr. 2026
-
Roediger allegedly saw the woman speaking with her boyfriend in the front yard on her bedroom security monitor and then went to the front door where a verbal altercation ensued.—
Christine Pelisek,
PEOPLE,
2 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
Trekking guides and their businesses get a boost from inflated invoices, the outlet suggested.—
Alex Nitzberg,
FOXNews.com,
2 Apr. 2026
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However, California’s petroleum market watchdog is warning that some of the inflated price may be due to price gouging, my colleague Blanca Begert reports.—
Noah Haggerty,
Los Angeles Times,
2 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
There was Coppola’s over-the-top defense of his friend with a grandiloquent gesture (Tanen declined to sell).—
Michael O’Donnell,
The Atlantic,
10 Feb. 2026
-
Reform—Within Reason Malthus aimed to puncture Godwin’s grandiloquent progressivism.—
Roy Scranton,
JSTOR Daily,
18 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Rhetorical.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/rhetorical. Accessed 7 Apr. 2026.
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