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
Commenting on background, the White House spokesman said there is no contradiction between Trump's tough-on-dealers rhetoric and his decisions to free some individuals involved in drug trafficking.
—
Brian Mann, NPR, 31 May 2025
That’s in spite of the fact that Rowling has placed herself at the center of a culture war, frequently posting anti-transgender rhetoric on social media.
—Danielle Chemtob, Forbes.com, 30 May 2025
Wu, who defended the city’s sanctuary status and limited cooperation with federal immigration authorities at a Congressional hearing in D.C. this past March, jumped in next, and blamed anti-immigration rhetoric for the crowd’s passionate response.
—Gayla Cawley, Boston Herald, 29 May 2025
Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev raised the specter of a World War III on Tuesday as the rhetoric between the White House and the Kremlin over the war in Ukraine ramped up.
—Astha Rajvanshi, NBC news, 28 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for rhetoric
Brian Mann, NPR, 31 May 2025
That’s in spite of the fact that Rowling has placed herself at the center of a culture war, frequently posting anti-transgender rhetoric on social media.
—Danielle Chemtob, Forbes.com, 30 May 2025
Wu, who defended the city’s sanctuary status and limited cooperation with federal immigration authorities at a Congressional hearing in D.C. this past March, jumped in next, and blamed anti-immigration rhetoric for the crowd’s passionate response.
—Gayla Cawley, Boston Herald, 29 May 2025
Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev raised the specter of a World War III on Tuesday as the rhetoric between the White House and the Kremlin over the war in Ukraine ramped up.
—Astha Rajvanshi, NBC news, 28 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for rhetoric
Recent Examples of Synonyms for rhetoric
Noun
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Nuclear energy can offer a zero-emission source of stable baseload electricity even when the sun doesn’t shine and the wind doesn’t blow, but as the World Nuclear Association points out, almost all U.S. nuclear generating capacity comes from reactors built between 1967 and 1990.—
Ariel Cohen,
Forbes.com,
26 May 2025
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Most trees in shallow soils or soils with a high water table that limits root growth are also likely to blow over during hurricane winds.—
Tom MacCubbin,
The Orlando Sentinel,
25 May 2025
Noun
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In this novel, a Vietnamese American writer best known for his poetry draws on his own experiences as a fast-food worker.—
The New Yorker,
New Yorker,
26 May 2025
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Stanley Kubrick deliberately chose the Danube Waltz to emphasize the grace and poetry of movement in space – a floating ballet in outer space.—
David Szondy
May 25,
New Atlas,
25 May 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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In 2023, another paper argued that the Milky Way and Andromeda are, in effect, already interacting since ancient stars in the Milky Way's halo are about halfway to Andromeda and that a halo of gas around both galaxies is already entwined.—
Jamie Carter,
Forbes.com,
2 June 2025
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If approved, Missourians would have higher gas bills by Oct. 24, 2025.—
Eleanor Nash,
Kansas City Star,
2 June 2025
Noun
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Al Foster, the jazz drummer who played in bands led by Miles Davis, Sonny Rollins, Herbie Hancock, among others, has died.—
Walden Green,
Pitchfork,
1 June 2025
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They were also assisted by actress Katherine McNamara on vocals and jazz musicians Adeev and Ezra Potash, who played horned instruments, and songwriter Philip Bowen, who played the fiddle.—
Joseph Hernandez,
Kansas City Star,
1 June 2025
Noun
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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
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On Friday, as the Rams prepared for the second night of the draft, McVay used his oratory skills before another assemblage of pros.—
Gary Klein,
Los Angeles Times,
26 Apr. 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 7 Jun. 2025.
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