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
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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
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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Recent Examples of rhetoric
The Trump campaign has gone all-in on Kennedy's views in recent weeks, embracing his anti-vax rhetoric and suggesting that a vaccine ban could happen during a second Trump presidency.
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Thomas G. Moukawsher, Newsweek, 5 Nov. 2024
During an appearance on MSNBC, Janelle Monáe called on voters to stand up for human rights and reject the transphobic language favored by the political right, citing the deadly effects of that rhetoric on trans people.
—Abby Monteil, Them, 5 Nov. 2024
Despite the Trump campaign’s anti-immigrant rhetoric, in a modern globalized world, migration is a fact of life and cannot be stopped.
—Eladio B. Bobadilla / Made By History, TIME, 5 Nov. 2024
Trump also has seized on darker rhetoric used by far-right figures, raising questions about whether such incendiary language could become more broadly accepted in the GOP.
—David Jackson, USA TODAY, 5 Nov. 2024
See all Example Sentences for rhetoric 
Thomas G. Moukawsher, Newsweek, 5 Nov. 2024
During an appearance on MSNBC, Janelle Monáe called on voters to stand up for human rights and reject the transphobic language favored by the political right, citing the deadly effects of that rhetoric on trans people.
—Abby Monteil, Them, 5 Nov. 2024
Despite the Trump campaign’s anti-immigrant rhetoric, in a modern globalized world, migration is a fact of life and cannot be stopped.
—Eladio B. Bobadilla / Made By History, TIME, 5 Nov. 2024
Trump also has seized on darker rhetoric used by far-right figures, raising questions about whether such incendiary language could become more broadly accepted in the GOP.
—David Jackson, USA TODAY, 5 Nov. 2024
See all Example Sentences for rhetoric
Recent Examples of Synonyms for rhetoric
Noun
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Some places on Jupiter have winds of more than 400 mph (about 640 kilometers per hour), about three times faster than a Category 5 hurricane on Earth.Benjamin Roulston, Discover Magazine, 7 Nov. 2024
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After landfall, the storm weakened to a Category 2 with maximum sustained winds of 105 mph and was moving northwest at 13 mph.Marlene Lenthang, NBC News, 7 Nov. 2024
Noun
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Is Sister Paxton feeling a hollowness in the poetry of her faith here?Nicholas Quah, Vulture, 8 Nov. 2024
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With spot-on comedic timing on both players’ parts, Hernandez’s boisterous interruptions paired well with Wickline’s soft-spoken poetry.Natalie Oganesyan, Deadline, 2 Nov. 2024
Noun
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There is no nonsense in Ron Norsworthy’s gaze or tone.Essence, Essence, 5 Nov. 2024
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And yeah, some of the items on his list are utter nonsense.Eric Miquelon, Forbes, 5 Nov. 2024
Noun
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There, experts matched gasses trapped within the rock to those detected in the Martian atmosphere by NASA’s Viking spacecraft.Andrew Paul, Popular Science, 14 Nov. 2024
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There can also be issues with moisture and mold, and in some cases the homes are not well-connected to water or electricity or gas.Albinson Linares, NBC News, 14 Nov. 2024
Noun
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San Francisco singer Sandy Cressman has played that essential role for the São Paulo mother-and-daughter team of jazz pianist/composer Débora Gurgel and vocalist Dani Gurgel.Andrew Gilbert, The Mercury News, 13 Nov. 2024
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In the recent Saturday Night movie, which mythologizes the series’ turbulent birth, Gabrielle LaBelle (playing a young Michaels) gives a speech about how SNL should feel like a wild night out in the city, all jazz and revelry.Rebecca Alter, Vulture, 11 Nov. 2024
Noun
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One source of Trump’s instinctive, inimitable political talent is that, for him, oratory and advertisement are entirely coeval domains.Vinson Cunningham, The New Yorker, 1 Nov. 2024
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He was not limited to a single playing field either in sports (baseball, basketball, and football) or the arts (acting, oratory, and singing).Thomas Doherty, The Hollywood Reporter, 12 Oct. 2024
Noun
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Photo: Everett Collection / Everett Collection Sleight gets extra points for being an unexpected indie genre picture amid so much scary bombast.Jordan Crucchiola, Vulture, 12 Oct. 2024
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Though Gotham stories are always primed for whimsical plot twists, there’s a matter-of-fact quality to Folie à Deux that is likely going to come as a disappointment to fans expecting theatrical bombast.Charles Pulliam-Moore, The Verge, 4 Oct. 2024
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
Thesaurus Entries Near rhetoric
Cite this Entry
“Rhetoric.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/rhetoric. Accessed 21 Nov. 2024.
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