How to Use rhetoric in a Sentence

rhetoric

noun
  • And Williams and Wilmore hope that rhetoric will change.
    — Josh Dinner, Space.com, 14 Feb. 2025
  • But the rhetoric in the crowds at protests in April and May was heated.
    — New York Times, 9 Jan. 2021
  • The rhetoric by the United States here is way off base.
    — Jonathan Shorman, Kansas City Star, 29 Feb. 2024
  • But with every first comes the rhetoric of hope and change.
    — Kathleen Newman-Bremang, refinery29.com, 1 Feb. 2022
  • And, often, this rhetoric around tough on crime is the first tack.
    — ABC News, 19 Dec. 2021
  • And in the wake of the developments, both sides have ramped up the rhetoric.
    — David Rising, Star Tribune, 15 Apr. 2021
  • The turnout was light, but the rhetoric was just as passionate.
    — Luke Money, Los Angeles Times, 6 May 2020
  • We’re being asked to tone down the rhetoric in our press, and that is BS.
    — John Shea, SFChronicle.com, 10 June 2020
  • There’s a lot of tough rhetoric that makes the road to a middle ground — if there is one — tough to find.
    — Michael Smolens, sandiegouniontribune.com, 1 July 2018
  • The rhetoric from Russia is that it’s the one being threatened.
    — Washington Post, 6 Dec. 2021
  • Kennedy is about unity and changing the rhetoric of the country.
    — Reader Commentary, Baltimore Sun, 13 Aug. 2024
  • Whether that is true or just fall camp rhetoric remains to be seen.
    — Kevin Reynolds, The Salt Lake Tribune, 2 Aug. 2023
  • For years, most of the fiery rhetoric has been coming from North Korea.
    — Dasl Yoon, WSJ, 13 Jan. 2023
  • Meanwhile, the gun control rhetoric has helped to push gun sales to record heights.
    — Aaron Smith, Forbes, 15 Apr. 2021
  • The problem with that kind of rhetoric is that a public square is governed by the state.
    — Washington Post, 6 May 2022
  • All of that was seen in the past week of political rhetoric.
    — Hope Yen, The Denver Post, 14 Sep. 2019
  • So, the ‘overwrought rhetoric about book banning has no place’ in this case.
    — Jack Greiner, The Enquirer, 21 Aug. 2022
  • But her rhetoric can be just as bilious, if not more so.
    — Robin Givhan, Washington Post, 27 Sep. 2022
  • The heated rhetoric is part of a larger fight over oil drilling and climate change.
    — Matthew Daly, BostonGlobe.com, 27 Jan. 2023
  • The rhetoric is something like: sure, cardio’s good for your heart, blah blah blah.
    — Alli Harvey, Anchorage Daily News, 18 Feb. 2023
  • But with so much at stake in this election, this kind of rhetoric was inevitable.
    — Luke McGee, CNN, 6 Nov. 2019
  • Faber’s rhetoric is stronger than most CEOs will venture.
    — Cassie Werber, Quartz at Work, 9 Dec. 2019
  • Some of the rhetoric coming from Labour has been concerning.
    — Svenja O'Donnell, Bloomberg.com, 26 Oct. 2017
  • The dearth of action being taken to confront these threats have not lived up to the rhetoric.
    — Alex Shephard, The New Republic, 22 June 2021
  • And the rhetoric of the 2024 presidential campaign will soon be at full blast.
    — Paul Gattis | [email protected], al, 2 Jan. 2023
  • Stoltenberg would have been so certain in their rhetoric about the enlargement.
    — Eli Stokols, Los Angeles Times, 19 May 2022
  • Despite the rhetoric about labor shortages, there are not enough jobs to go around.
    — Sarah Damaske, Time, 7 July 2021
  • The rhetoric that inspired the gunman in El Paso hasn’t lost its prominence.
    — Stephania Taladrid, The New Yorker, 8 Aug. 2023
  • Trump also targeted Canada in his rhetoric, suggesting the country could become the 51st state in the U.S.
    — David Zimmermann, The Washington Examiner, 8 July 2025
  • Concerns over antisemitic rhetoric and vandalism didn’t even tighten the race.
    — Sara Forman, New York Daily News, 8 July 2025

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'rhetoric.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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