Rhetoric Introduction

Z L (Singapore)
134 words 34 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. abecedarian
    alphabetically arranged, as for beginning readers
  2. abode
    any address at which you dwell more than temporarily
  3. abuse
    cruel or inhumane treatment
  4. acrostic
    verse in which the first letter in each line forms a message
  5. adage
    a condensed but memorable saying embodying an important fact
  6. adjournment
    the termination of a meeting
  7. adjunct
    something added to another thing but not essential to it
  8. affirmation
    the act of asserting or stating something
  9. allegory
    a short moral story
  10. alliteration
    use of the same consonant at the beginning of each word
  11. ambage
    a style that involves indirect ways of expressing things
  12. ambiguous
    having more than one possible meaning
  13. anacoluthon
    an abrupt change within a sentence from one syntactic structure to another
  14. anadiplosis
    repetition of the final words of a sentence or line at the beginning of the next
  15. anamnesis
    the ability to recall the past
  16. anaphora
    repetition of a word or phrase to begin successive clauses
  17. anastrophe
    the reversal of the normal order of words
  18. anticipation
    the act of predicting, as by reasoning about the future
  19. antiphrasis
    the use of a word in a sense opposite to its normal sense
  20. antistrophe
    the second of three sections of a classical Greek ode
  21. antithesis
    exact opposite
  22. aphaeresis
    (linguistics) omission at the beginning of a word as in `coon' for `raccoon' or `till' for `until'
  23. apocope
    abbreviation of a word by omitting the final sound or sounds
  24. apologue
    a short moral story (often with animal characters)
  25. apophasis
    mentioning something by saying it will not be mentioned
  26. aposiopesis
    breaking off in the middle of a sentence
  27. apostrophe
    a mark used to indicate the omission of one or more letters
  28. apothegm
    a short pithy instructive saying
  29. apposition
    the act of placing close together or side by side
  30. assonance
    the repetition of similar vowels in successive words
  31. assumption
    the act of taking something for granted
  32. asyndeton
    omission of conjunctions where they would normally be used
  33. auxesis
    growth from increase in cell size without cell division
  34. barbarism
    a brutal barbarous savage act
  35. catachresis
    strained or paradoxical use of words either in error (as `blatant' to mean `flagrant') or deliberately (as in a mixed metaphor: `blind mouths')
  36. chiasmus
    inversion in the second of two parallel phrases
  37. clause
    a separate section of a legal document
  38. climax
    the highest point of anything
  39. colon
    the part of the large intestine between the cecum and rectum
  40. comma
    a punctuation mark (,) indicating the separation of elements
  41. conceit
    the trait of being unduly vain
  42. condescension
    showing arrogance by patronizing those considered inferior
  43. congeries
    a sum total of many heterogenous things taken together
  44. consonance
    a harmonious state of things and of their properties
  45. contrast
    the opposition or dissimilarity of things that are compared
  46. counterchange
    cause to change places
  47. diaeresis
    a diacritical mark (two dots) placed over a vowel in German to indicate a change in sound
  48. dialysis
    separation of mixed substances using a special filter
  49. diastole
    heartbeat phase when the heart relaxes and fills with blood
  50. dilemma
    state of uncertainty in a choice between unfavorable options
  51. ecphonesis
    an exclamatory rhetorical device
  52. ellipsis
    a mark indicating that words have been omitted
  53. emphasis
    intensity or forcefulness of expression
  54. enallage
    a substitution of part of speech or gender or number or tense etc. (e.g., editorial `we' for `I')
  55. encomium
    a formal expression of praise
  56. enigma
    something that baffles understanding and cannot be explained
  57. epanalepsis
    repetition after intervening words
  58. epanodos
    repetition of a group of words in reverse order
  59. epanorthosis
    immediate rephrasing for intensification or justification
  60. epenthesis
    the insertion of a vowel or consonant into a word to make its pronunciation easier
  61. epiplexis
    a rhetorical device in which the speaker reproaches the audience in order to incite or convince them
  62. epistrophe
    repetition of the ends of successive sentences, verses, etc.
  63. example
    an item of information that is typical of a class or group
  64. excursus
    a message that departs from the main subject
  65. gnome
    a legendary creature resembling a tiny old man
  66. hendiadys
    use of two conjoined nouns instead of a noun and modifier
  67. hypallage
    reversal of the syntactic relation of two words
  68. hyperbaton
    reversal of normal word order
  69. hyperbole
    extravagant exaggeration
  70. hypozeugma
    use of a series of subjects with a single predicate
  71. hypozeuxis
    use of a series of parallel clauses
  72. hysteron proteron
    reversal of normal order of two words or sentences etc.
  73. icon
    a visual representation produced on a surface
  74. intimation
    a slight suggestion or vague understanding
  75. irony
    incongruity between what might be expected and what occurs
  76. litotes
    understatement for rhetorical effect
  77. maxim
    a saying that is widely accepted on its own merits
  78. meiosis
    cell division that produces reproductive cells
  79. metalepsis
    substituting metonymy of one figurative sense for another
  80. metaphor
    a figure of speech that suggests a non-literal similarity
  81. metastasis
    the spreading of a disease to another part of the body
  82. metathesis
    a linguistic process of transposition of sounds or syllables within a word or words within a sentence
  83. metonymy
    substituting the name of a feature for the name of the thing
  84. mimesis
    imitative or realistic representation in art and literature
  85. onomatopoeia
    using words that imitate the sound they denote
  86. oxymoron
    conjoined contradictory terms
  87. parabola
    a symmetrical, approximately U-shaped curve
  88. paradox
    a statement that contradicts itself
  89. paralipsis
    suggesting by deliberately concise treatment that much of significance is omitted
  90. parallelism
    similarity by virtue of corresponding
  91. paregmenon
    juxtaposing words having a common derivation
  92. parenthesis
    a punctuation mark used to enclose textual material
  93. paronomasia
    a humorous play on words
  94. period
    an amount of time
  95. periphrasis
    an act of expressing things in an indirect or roundabout way
  96. personification
    attributing human characteristics to abstract ideas
  97. pleonasm
    using more words than necessary
  98. ploce
    repetition to gain special emphasis or extend meaning
  99. polyptoton
    repetition of a word in a different case or inflection in the same sentence
  100. polysyndeton
    using several conjunctions in close succession, especially where some might be omitted (as in `he ran and jumped and laughed for joy')
  101. prolepsis
    anticipating and answering objections in advance
  102. prosopopoeia
    representing an abstract quality or idea as a person or creature
  103. proverb
    a condensed but memorable saying embodying an important fact
  104. rhetorical question
    an inquiry that is not supposed to be answered
  105. scheme
    an elaborate and systematic plan of action
  106. simile
    a figure of speech expressing a resemblance between things
  107. syllepsis
    use of a word to govern two or more words though agreeing in number or case etc. with only one
  108. symploce
    repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning and another at the end of successive clauses, i.e., simultaneous use of anaphora and epistrophe
  109. synaeresis
    the contraction of two vowels into a diphthong
  110. syncope
    the loss of sounds from within a word
  111. synecdoche
    using part of something to refer to the whole thing
  112. synthesis
    the combination of ideas into a complex whole
  113. systole
    the contraction of the chambers of the heart
  114. taxis
    a locomotor response toward or away from an external stimulus by a motile (and usually simple) organism
  115. zeugma
    rhetorical use of a word to govern two or more words
  116. rhetorical device
    a use of language that creates a literary effect
  117. rhetorical
    relating to using language effectively
  118. rhetorical
    emphasizing style at the expense of thought
  119. repetition
    the continued use of the same word or word pattern
  120. meiosis
    understatement for rhetorical effect
  121. ecphonesis
    an exclamatory rhetorical device
  122. end-stopped
    (verse) having a rhetorical pause at the end of each line
  123. epideictic
    designed primarily for rhetorical display
  124. epideictical
    designed primarily for rhetorical display
  125. epiplexis
    a rhetorical device in which the speaker reproaches the audience in order to incite or convince them
  126. exclamation
    an emphatic rhetorical device
  127. litotes
    understatement for rhetorical effect
  128. oratory
    the act of addressing an audience formally
  129. peroration
    a flowery and highly rhetorical address
  130. rhetorical device
    a use of language that creates a literary effect
  131. rhetorically
    in a rhetorical manner
  132. gemination
    the doubling of a word or phrase (as for rhetorical effect)
  133. pathos
    a quality that arouses emotions, especially pity or sorrow
  134. ethos
    the distinctive spirit of a culture or an era
Created on Tue Aug 06 10:49:27 EDT 2013 (updated Fri Aug 09 23:52:05 EDT 2013)

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