rhetorical

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“
Just before we settled down for the night a man came and asked if we could store a case for him - as we were the only westerners in the carriage we agreed - I think it was what you called a rhetorical question.

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Definitions (13)

Toggle American Heritage definitions American Heritage Dictionary (3)

  1. adjective Of or relating to rhetoric.
  2. adjective Characterized by overelaborate or bombastic rhetoric.
  3. adjective Used for persuasive effect: a speech punctuated by rhetorical pauses.

Toggle Century definitions Century Dictionary (7)

Toggle GNU Webster definitions GNU Webster's 1913 (1)

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Examples (50)

  • Her question had been rhetorical, and my answer, to her, irrelevant. —  CriticalConditions
  • In any event it was what the adults called a rhetorical question, which was a fancy way of saying it needed no answer. —  The Dastard
  • Just before we settled down for the night a man came and asked if we could store a case for him - as we were the only westerners in the carriage we agreed - I think it was what you called a rhetorical question. —  TravelPod.com Recent Updates
  • As Obama's program begins to selectively help people in neighborhoods across the country the rhetorical will become real. —  American Thinker
  • Students will brainstorm a set of questions related to a rhetorical issue. —  Recently Uploaded Slideshows
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Roget's II: The New Thesaurus, Third Edition by the Editors of the American Heritage® Dictionary. Copyright © 2003, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Etymologies (1)

Toggle Century etymologies Century Dictionary (1)

  1. Early modern English rethoricall; from rhetoric + -al.
 

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/rəˈtɑrɪkəl/
by American Heritage

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