Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.
Definitions: Rhetoric |
RhetoricNoun1. Using language effectively to please or persuade. 2. High flown style; excessive use of verbal ornamentation. 3. Loud and confused and empty talk; "mere rhetoric". 4. Study of the technique and rules for using language effectively (especially in public speaking). Source: WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved. |
Date "rhetoric" was first used: sometime around 1330. (references) |
| Domain | Definitions |
19th Century Satire | Language in a dress suit. Source: Foolish Dictionary, 1904. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)
Rhetoric began in ancient Greece. The first written manual is attributed to Corax and Tisias. Rhetoric was popularized in the 5th century B.C. by itinerant teachers known as sophists, the best known of whom were Protagoras, Gorgias, and Isocrates.
Plato is the great historical enemy of the sophistic movement. For Plato, the essence of philosophy lay in the process of dialectic, in which reason and discussion progressively lead to the discovery of important truths. Plato believed that the sophists cared not for the truth of an argument, but only how they might appear to win it.
Two of Plato's dialogues are especially focused upon rhetoric. The Gorgias emphasizes Plato's contention that the sophists value style over substance. Philosophy and rhetoric are related in the same way as are medicine and cosmetics. That is, medicine (like philosophy) is concerned with what is truly best for its subjects, whereas cosmetics (like rhetoric) is concerned solely with appearances. The Phaedrus was written after the Gorgias. While it continues Plato's critique of rhetoric, he also holds out the possibility that a rhetoric may yet be devised which is true and noble.
In fact, the rhetoric developed by Plato's student, Aristotle, can be seen as just such a rhetoric. In the first sentence of The Art of Rhetoric (Ars Rhetorica), Aristotle immediately describes rhetoric as the counterpart of dialectic. By this, he means that, while dialectical methods are necessary to find truth, rhetorical methods are required to communicate it.
Aristotle's systematic description of rhetoric completely dominated rhetorical thought through the middle ages and beyond. His chief emphasis is upon the three kinds of proof that can be offered on behalf of an argument. Logos consists of the use of logic and reason in constructing an argument. Pathos concerns emotional appeals. Ethos focuses upon how the character of a speaker influences an audience to consider him to be believable.
Also very important in Aristolte's scheme are Kairos, the context in which the proof will be delivered, The Audience, the psychological and emotional makeup of those who will receive the proof, and To Prepon, the style with which he clothes his proof. In order for rhetoric to be effective, the orator must be sensitive to these elements. He must realize that the context will constrict what he can say and what will be considered relevant. He must attune his message to his audience, or he will risk alienating or disgusting his audience. And he must embody his ideas in a way that is both proper to the occasion and to his audience. For example, the orator would not use colloquial or slang language if he was speaking about a lofty topic. Indeed, all three elements are intertwined: The character of the audience will define how the orator judges the context, the context will define the style he will use, and, through the experimentation, the style will influence what the context consists of.
While Western philosophy has tended to emphasize Logos, Aristotle's three bases of evidence provide a philosophical foundation for the broadly conceived psycho-social or behavioral sciences where accounting for non-rational factors in human behavior is necessary for explanatory completeness. Especially professions or occupations in applied social sciences, such as psychotherapy are based in the practice of persuasion, or rhetoric in Aristotle's broad conception.
The Romans were great borrowers, and they found much value in Aristotle's rhetoric. Cicero and Quintilian were chief among Roman rhetoricians, and their work is clearly an extension of Aristotle's. In particular, Quintilian codified rhetorical studies under five canons that would persist for centuries in academic circles. Inventio (invention) is the process that leads to the development and refinement of an argument. Once an argument is developed, it is up to dispositio (disposition, or arrangement) to determine how it should be organized for greatest effect. Once the speech content is known and the structure is determined, the next steps involve pronuntiatio (language choice) and elocutio (delivery). Finally, memoria (memory) comes to play as the speaker recalls each of these elements during the speech.
In the 16th century, after long domination by Scholasticism and Aristotelian thinking, Petrus Ramus proposed to reorganize the school curriculum of the day. Breaking with the traditional divisions of the liberal arts, he proposed something similar to the contemporary division of universities into multiple schools and departments of study (in fact, Ramus is the ultimate source of this organizational scheme). His efforts succeeded. The five components of rhetoric no longer lived under the common heading of rhetoric. Instead, invention and disposition were determined to fall under the heading of philosophy, while language, delivery, and memory were all that remained for rhetoric.
Once stripped of its more substantial elements, rhetoric became a much less prestigious topic of study. Much as Plato originally condemned the rhetoric of the sophists for its lack of concern for truth, rhetoric now came to be associated with emptiness: it ceased to be connected with ideas. In popular use, this connotation persists to this day. However, the term is still used in a deeper and more constructive sense in the study of human communication.
(Definitions, discussion of conflicting opinions, ending with synthesis: a working general definition of rhetoric for this article)
Current State of Rhetorical Study
Rhetorical theory today is much more heavily influenced by the research results and research methods of the behavioral sciences and by theories of literary criticism than by ancient Rhetorical theory.
See also, Visual Rhetoric.
Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Rhetoric."
Synonyms: RhetoricSynonyms: empty talk (n), empty words (n), grandiloquence (n), grandiosity (n), hot air (n), magniloquence (n), palaver (n). (additional references) |
| Context | Synonyms within Context (source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus). |
Ornament | Fleuron; head piece, tail piece; cul-de-lampe; flowers of rhetoric; work of art. |
Flourish; flowers of speech, flowers of rhetoric; frills of style, euphuism, euphemism. | |
Speech | Oratory; elocution, eloquence; rhetoric, declamation; grandiloquence, multiloquence; burst of eloquence; facundity; flow of words, command of words, command of language; copia verborum; power of speech, gift of the gab; usus loquendi. |
| Source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus. | |
Crosswords: Rhetoric |
| English words defined with "rhetoric": flowery ♦ idle words ♦ jazz ♦ nothingness ♦ ornate ♦ Ramist, Rethoryke, rhetorical, Rhetorize ♦ synthetic ♦ Trivium ♦ wind. (references) |
| Specialty definitions using "rhetoric": As well as ♦ BARBARISMS, Barnaby Lecturers, Biæum, Boeotian Ears, But ♦ mendacious ♦ Nor ♦ Or ♦ Save ♦ U'niversity. (references) |
| Etymologies containing "rhetoric": Rethoryke, rhetorical, Rhetoricate. (references) |
| Domain | Usage | |
Screenplays | We're more of the love, blood, and rhetoric school. (Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead; writing credit: Tom Stoppard;) | |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | ||
| Domain | Title | ||
Books |
| ||
Periodicals |
| ||
Music |
| ||
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |||
| Author | Quotation |
Francis Bacon | Histories make men wise; poets, witty; the mathematics, subtile; natural philosphy, deep; moral, grave; logic and rhetoric, able to contend. |
Johann Friedrich Von Schiller | Power is the most persuasive rhetoric. |
Plato | Rhetoric is the art of ruling the minds of men. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | |
| Author | Date | Quotation |
Communist Manifesto | 1848 | The robe of speculative cobwebs, embroidered with flowers of rhetoric, steeped in the dew of sickly sentiment, this transcendental robe in which the German Socialists wrapped their sorry "eternal truths," all skin and bone, served to wonderfully increase the sale of their goods amongst such a public. (reference) |
Winston S. Churchill | 1946 | Indeed, it was at Westminster that I received a very large part of my education in politics, dialectic, rhetoric, and one or two other things. ("Iron Curtain" Speech) |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | ||
| Title | Author | Quote |
Walden | Thoreau, Henry David | What is called eloquence in the forum is commonly found to be rhetoric in the study. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | ||
| Subject | Topic | Quote |
Business | Whether the optimistic scenario prevails will depend largely on whether the German parliament, government agencies and courts translate rhetoric into e-commerce friendly policies. (references) | |
Civil Liberties | Morocco | Although there are over 20 active Islamist groups, the Government has prohibited membership in two, the JCO and Jama'a Islamia, due to their perceived anti-Monarchy rhetoric. (references) |
Venezuela | Some observers assert that President Chavez's aggressive rhetoric in criticizing the media has contributed to a climate of intimidation and hostility toward the media that encourages such attacks. (references) | |
Venezuela | The IPI report stated that "the aggressive rhetoric by President Chavez has contributed to the creation of a climate of intimidation and hostility toward the press and self-censorship is becoming more common." The IPI charged that some government officials at the state and city levels also have tried to intimidate the media. (references) | |
Economic History | Nepal | However, it has not lived up to its rhetoric. (references) |
Japan | Amazingly, the Prime Minister's "tough love" rhetoric has resonated with the general public. (references) | |
Nepal | Maoists have recently increased their rhetoric against foreign-owned industries operating in Nepal. (references) | |
Human Rights | Malaysia | In the latter half of the year, the Government stepped up its pro-ISA rhetoric. (references) |
Minorities | Comoros | Anti-Christian rhetoric was broadcast on the radio. (references) |
Russia | The ADL expressed concern that this spate of anti-Semitic incidents may be the result of the nationalist rhetoric of some politicians who had blamed "Jews and Zionists" for the September 11 terrorist attacks on the U.S. Axelrod stated to the press, "Nationalism and xenophobia figure prominently these days in the press, in public rantings, on the Internet. (references) | |
Political Economy | Bahamas | Overall, however, politics tends to follow the British model of combining sometimes intense rhetoric with courtly manners. (references) |
Zambia | Moreover, 2001 is an election year and populist rhetoric and policies have become common, disturbing the business community. (references) | |
Zambia | The MMD has also, throughout its second term in power, relied on populist rhetoric that has hampered further economic liberalization and privatization. (references) | |
Lexicography | Devil's Dictionary | MENDACIOUS, adj. Addicted to rhetoric. |
Source: compiled by the editor from ICON Group International, Inc.; see credits. | ||
| Speaker | Phrase(s) |
John E. Sununu | Well, look, people in New Hampshire know that I'll talk thoughtfully, substantively about any issue. There's a lot of Democrat rhetoric going back years, scare tactics, trying to scare seniors about Social Security. |
John Warner | While the Senate rafters are not ringing with rhetoric and debate, but the serious discussions in all the committee rooms. |
Nancy Pelosi | I don't know if the White House is, but I do know that what I see on a daily basis in Congress is that is the case, and certainly we have heard rhetoric from the White House that would reinforce that negative message from the Congress. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| Speaker | Term | Phrase(s) |
Lyndon B. Johnson | 1963-1969 | We have avoided both the acts and the rhetoric of the cold war. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | ||
| "Rhetoric" is generally used as a noun (singular) -- approximately 99.90% of the time. "Rhetoric" is used about 966 times out of a sample of 100 million words spoken or written in English. Its rank is based on over 700,000 words used in the English language. Some parts-of-speech are not covered due to the samples used by the British National Corpus. (note: percents less than one-hundredth of one percent have been omitted) |
| Parts of Speech | Percent | Usage per 100 Million Words | Rank in English |
| Noun (singular) | 99.9% | 965 | 7,550 |
| Noun (proper) | 0.1% | 1 | 339,140 |
| Total | 100.00% | 966 | N/A |
Source: compiled by the editor from several corpora; see credits.
Expression using "rhetoric": flowers of rhetoric. Additional references. | |
| Hyphenated Usage | |
Beginning with "rhetoric": rhetoric-reality. | |
Ending with "rhetoric": free-from-rhetoric. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| The following statistics estimate the number of searches per day across the major English-language search engines as identified by various trade publications. Hyperlinks lead to commercial use of the expression at Amazon.com. |
| Expression | Frequency per Day | Expression | Frequency per Day |
rhetoric | 128 | define rhetoric | 4 |
aristotle rhetoric | 21 | arts grammar liberal logic rhetoric trivium | 3 |
definition rhetoric | 9 | greek rhetoric | 3 |
rhetoric science | 8 | the rhetoric of history | 3 |
classical rhetoric | 7 | king luther martin rhetoric | 3 |
aristotles rhetoric | 6 | art rhetoric | 3 |
in invention rhetoric | 6 | hitler rhetoric | 2 |
rhetoric and composition | 5 | history johnsons poverty president rhetoric war | 2 |
american rhetoric | 4 | argument critical logic rhetoric thinking | 2 |
art longinus rhetoric | 4 | art knack rhetoric | 2 |
grammar logic rhetoric | 2 | ||
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |||
| Language | Translations for "rhetoric"; alternative meanings/domain in parentheses. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Albanian | retorikë. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Arabic | فن النثر, فن الخطابة (elocution, oratory), فصاحة (eloquence, fluency, pureness), علم البلاغة, بيان بلاغة (eloquence), بيان (bulletin, catalogue, declaration, diction, handout, insertion, list, notice, notification, piano, proclamation, program, programme, pronouncement, report, representation, statement), بلاغة (eloquence, figurative language). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Bulgarian | риторика (oratory), ораторство (oratory, public speaking, the platform). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Chinese | 修辞, 修辭 . (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Czech | rétorika, řeènictví (oratory). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Dutch | retoriek (oratory). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Esperanto | retoriko (oratory). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Farsi | فصاحت وبلاغت (Oration), معانی بیان , لفاظی (Verbiage), قدرت نطق وبیان , وابسته بعلم بدیع یامعانی بیان , علم معانی بیان , علم بدیع (Prosody), خطابت . (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Finnish | puhetaito (oratory). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
French | rhétorique, éloquence. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
German | Rhetorik (elocution, oratory), redekunst (elocution, oratory). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Greek | ρητορικόσ (forensic, oratorical, rhetorical), ρητορική (elocution, oratory), ρητορεία (oratory). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Hebrew | אמנות הדבור (eloquence, oratory), רתוריקה, נמלץ (epigrammatic, fulsome, grandiloquent, rotund, sententious). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Hungarian | retorika. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Indonesian | kepandaiaan berpidato. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Italian | retorica. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Japanese Kanji | レスキュー隊 (label, ladies, ladies first, lady, Lady Borden, laisser-faire, lead, led, leg warmers, lesbian, lesser panda, lesson, letter, letter facsimile, letterhead, lettering, lettuce, medical practitioners' receipt for health insurance claim, medical prescription, ready-made, reception, red, red purge, red tape, Redmond, rescue squad, resolution, resonance, respirator, response, rest, rest house, rest room, restaurant, restaurant hotel, restaurant theater, retort, retouch, sticker, tow truck, wrestling), 修辞法 , 修辞学 . (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Japanese Katakana | レトリック , しゅうじがく, しゅうじほう. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Korean | 수사학 (rhetorical). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Manx | so-loayrtagh (smooth-spoken), retrick. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Pig Latin | etoricrhay retórica (eloquent, fluctuate, oratory, trivia). (various references) retoricã (oratory), oratorie (elocution, eloquence), elocinţã (eloquence, emphasis, oratory), discurs pompos. (various references) краснобайство. (various references) retorika, besedništvo. (various references) retórico (oratorical, rhetorical, rhetorician). (various references) retorik. (various references) การใช้ถ้อยคำโอ้อวดเกินเลย, การใช้ถ้อยคำชักจูงโน้มน้าว. (various references) sözbilim, hitabet sanatı (a glib tongue, art of delivering speech), güzel konuşma (a glib tongue, atticism), etkili yazma, etkili konuşma sanatı, belâgat. (various references) риторика (eloquence, oratory), пишномовність (grandiloquence, magniloquence, rant, rhapsody). (various references) tu từ học thuật hùng biện sách tu từ học, sách dạy thuật hùng biện. (various references) rhethreg, rheitheg, areithyddiaeth (elocution, oratory), areitheg. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Language | Period | Translations |
| Greek | 700 BCE-300 CE | rhetorike techne. (various references) |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | ||
Derivations | |
Words beginning with "rhetoric": rhetorical, rhetorically, rhetorician, rhetoricians, rhetorics. (additional references) | |
Words containing "rhetoric": unrhetorical. (additional references) | |
| |
"Rhetoric" is suggested in spellcheckers for the following: hetoric, Khatori, rehetoric, rehtoric, rethoric, retoric, rheroric, rhetaric, rheteric, rhetiric, rhetonic, rhetor, rhetorica, Rhetorick, rhetorics, rhetorik, rhetric, rhetroric. (additional references) | |
| Source: compiled by the editor, based on several corpora (additional references). | |
| # of Phoneme Matches | Pronunciation | Word(s) rhyming with "rhetoric" (pronounced re"terik) |
| 3 | -er i k | choleric, Limerick, maverick, phosphoric. |
Source: compiled by the editor (additional references); see credits. | ||
Scrabble® Enable2K-Verified Anagrams | |
Direct Anagrams: torchier. | |
| Words within the letters "c-e-h-i-o-r-r-t" | |
-1 letter: heritor. | |
-2 letters: chirre, cither, coheir, corrie, erotic, hector, heriot, heroic, orrice, rector, rhetor, richer, rioter, rochet, rotche, thoric, thrice, tocher, troche. | |
-3 letters: chert, chiro, chirr, choir, chore, citer, corer, crier, crore, ethic, hirer, ichor, ither, ocher, ochre, other, recti, recto, retch, retro, ricer, rotch, their, throe, torch, toric, trice, trier. | |
-4 letters: cero, chit, cire. | |
| Words containing the letters "c-e-h-i-o-r-r-t" | |
+1 letter: chorister, rhetorics, torchiers. | |
+2 letters: charioteer, choristers, rectorship, rhetorical. | |
+3 letters: charioteers, chiropteran, choirmaster, hydrometric, hygrometric, prehistoric, rectorships, rhetorician, thermoduric, xerothermic. | |
+4 letters: chiropterans, choirmasters, chronometric, creditworthy, directorship, electrophori, erythrocytic, erythromycin, horticulture, hypertrophic, morphometric, normothermic, peritrichous, petrographic, rhetorically, rhetoricians, thermometric, thermotropic, trichopteran, trochanteric, tropospheric, unrhetorical. | |
+5 letters: arthroscopies, cartographies, chromoprotein, chronometries, copartnership, cryotherapies, directorships, erythromycins, heteromorphic, heterotrophic, horticultures, hydroelectric, hypermetropic, hyperromantic, orchestrating, orchestration, phycoerythrin, precentorship, preceptorship, prehistorical, protectorship, psychrometric, rhodochrosite, stereographic, stratospheric, terpsichorean, tetrachloride, theriomorphic, thermographic, thermospheric, trichopterans, trisoctahedra. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. SCRABBLE® is a registered trademark. All intellectual property rights in and to the game are owned in the U.S.A and Canada by Hasbro Inc., and throughout the rest of the world by J.W. Spear & Sons Limited of Maidenhead, Berkshire, England, a subsidiary of Mattel Inc. Mattel and Spear are not affiliated with Hasbro. | |
Hexadecimal (or equivalents, 770AD-1900s) (references)52 68 65 74 6F 72 69 63 |
| Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519; backwards) (references)
|
| American Sign Language (origins from 1620-1817 in Italy and, especially, France) (references)
|
| Semaphore (1791, in France) (references)
|
| Braille (1829, in France) (references)
|
Morse Code (1836) (references).-. .... . - --- .-. .. -.-. |
| Dancing Men (Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, 1903) (references)
|
| Amazon.com BOOKS: Search for: "rhetoric" |
