rhetorical

adjective

ri-ˈtȯr-i-kəl How to pronounce rhetorical (audio)
variants also rhetoric
Definition of rhetoricalnext
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

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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

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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

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of rhetorical The filing also says the lawsuit against Alvarez targets political opinions and rhetorical statements that are protected by the First Amendment. — Grethel Aguila, Miami Herald, 19 Aug. 2026 The way out of this rhetorical mess is just to go with the truth. — Agnes Callard, The New York Review of Books, 18 Aug. 2026 To judge by the vocabulary deployed in its pages, the book belongs in the inner sanctum of literary theory, where the walls are hung with gnarly rhetorical tropes. — Anthony Lane, New Yorker, 3 Aug. 2026 For one, what South Korea is calling a policy shift is largely rhetorical and little different in substance from the previous approach, says KIDA's Lee Ho-ryung. — Se Eun Gong, NPR, 3 Aug. 2026 See All Example Sentences for rhetorical
Recent Examples of Synonyms for rhetorical
  1. oratorical
  2. ornate
  3. linguistic
  4. pontifical
  5. purple
  6. verbal
  7. inflated
  8. grandiloquent
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
Definition of oratorical
Adjective
  • Instead of the ornate porcelain and cloisonné enameling often associated with imperial vases, this one is made of blown glass.
    — Stephy Chung, CNN Money, 21 Aug. 2026
  • By 1988, when Phantom debuted on Broadway, the Reagan-era consumer culture and flashy opulence were on their way out, so the ornate, maximalist sets and the lush orchestrations felt off-key to reviewers.
    — Angelica Frey, JSTOR Daily, 20 Aug. 2026
Definition of ornate
Adjective
  • If O’Donnell’s tenure on Kimmel was a welcome hug of nostalgia, then this White House statement is a boring retread of the administration’s linguistic greatest hits.
    — Bethy Squires, Vulture, 21 Aug. 2026
  • The distinction between Blond and Blonde becomes a tiny linguistic fault line—two versions of the same word occupying slightly different identities.
    — Desjah Altvater, Forbes.com, 20 Aug. 2026
Definition of linguistic
Adjective
  • Leo opened his visit to Pompeii by meeting with sick and disabled people who are cared for by a charity center affiliated with the sanctuary, which Leo’s namesake, Pope Leo XIII, declared a pontifical basilica in 1901.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 8 May 2026
  • That public spat has overshadowed his pontifical tour of four African countries, which ended Thursday with a Mass for thousands of people in Malabo, the former capital of Equatorial Guinea.
    — Claudio Lavanga, NBC news, 23 Apr. 2026
Definition of pontifical
Adjective
  • The market is waking up to this fact, which is why SMH (in purple below) is starting to recover.
    — Michael Foster, Forbes.com, 22 Aug. 2026
  • Ahmad grew up in Kashmir, a region in India’s northwest abutting the Himalayas, replete with vast valleys, glassy mountain lakes, and purple iris and cyan forget-me-nots.
    — Eli Cahan, Rolling Stone, 21 Aug. 2026
Definition of purple
Adjective
  • In its breathless finale, Curry races through the mansion reconstructing every murder, flinging himself through doors and corridors while maintaining the verbal precision of a stage actor performing at double speed.
    — Seth Abramovitch, HollywoodReporter, 26 Aug. 2026
  • During a verbal exchange with Sky guard Natasha Cloud in the third quarter, Kanter Freedom stepped over photographers to encroach on the baseline during a dead ball.
    — Julia Poe, Chicago Tribune, 25 Aug. 2026
Definition of verbal
Adjective
  • These include, but are not limited to, contracts granted at inflated costs to Bastien Baudoin, the head of the consultancy firm Tyrex Conseil, and the company Ludoparc, for the building of a children’s playground.
    — Devorah Lauter, ARTnews.com, 21 Aug. 2026
  • But Puck’s inflated branding has, over time, come to look almost prophetic.
    — Aidan McLaughlin, Vanity Fair, 19 Aug. 2026
Definition of inflated
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
Definition of grandiloquent

Browse Nearby Words

rhetoric
rhetorical
rhetorician
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Cite this Entry

“Rhetorical.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/rhetorical. Accessed 28 Aug. 2026.

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