Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun The use of more words than are required to express an idea; redundancy.
- noun An instance of pleonasm.
- noun A superfluous word or phrase.
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun Redundancy of language; the use of more words than are necessary to express an idea.
- noun A redundant phrase or expression; an instance of redundancy of language.
- noun In medicine, excess in number or size.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun (Rhet.) Redundancy of language in speaking or writing; the use of more words than are necessary to express the idea.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun uncountable, rhetoric
Redundancy in wording. - noun countable A phrase involving pleonasm, that is, a phrase in which one or more words are redundant as their meaning is expressed elsewhere in the phrase.
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun using more words than necessary
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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The term pleonasm is a bit different, as it focuses on the concept of superfluity rather than repetition - words that are unnecessary.
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The pro-mufsidun Left and the media (if I may indulge in pleonasm) have constructed a “narrative” of the War on Terror, “narrative” having become the progressive antonym of “fact”.
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The pro-mufsidun Left and the media (if I may indulge in pleonasm) have constructed a “narrative” of the War on Terror, “narrative” having become the progressive antonym of “fact”.
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The pro-mufsidun Left and the media (if I may indulge in pleonasm) have constructed a “narrative” of the War on Terror, “narrative” having become the progressive antonym of “fact”.
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A pleonasm is a redundant expression in speaking or writing.
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_on_ 'is not properly to be called a pleonasm, merely because it is -- nothing at all.
International Weekly Miscellany - Volume 1, No. 6, August 5, 1850
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Still, he gets special bonus points for using "pleonasm," which we just don't see enough of in conversation.
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"Still, he gets special bonus points for using 'pleonasm'"
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Still, he gets special bonus points for using "pleonasm," which we just don't see enough of in conversation.
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Over the years, I'm sure I've read it more for pleasure than with purpose, less in the hope of resolving a confusion over "pleonasm" than to discover that "pleonasm" was something at all.
pedalinfaith commented on the word pleonasm
Please RSVP. :)
December 9, 2006
pedalinfaith commented on the word pleonasm
- from "Big Rio Grande River" by Austin Lounge Lizards
December 9, 2006
seanahan commented on the word pleonasm
Good example pedalinfaith. I like "Miller MGD" myself.
December 9, 2006
pedalinfaith commented on the word pleonasm
A most exemplary example of battology. ;)
December 13, 2006
nkocharh commented on the word pleonasm
"PIN number" and "ATM machine" are my bêtes noires.
December 13, 2006
toner commented on the word pleonasm
irregardless
January 24, 2007
yarb commented on the word pleonasm
"...Professor Lamort's felicitous pleonasm."
- Nabokov, Ada, or Ardor.
May 17, 2008
seanahan commented on the word pleonasm
What was the felicitous pleonasm?
May 19, 2008
thinkingsage commented on the word pleonasm
It's kinda hard to read the comments on my LCD display. Maybe I should buy a new one.
July 16, 2008
bilby commented on the word pleonasm
A pleonasma screen.
July 16, 2008
hgould3 commented on the word pleonasm
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
September 29, 2010
jmjarmstrong commented on the word pleonasm
JM has never seen a pleonasm he doesn't like in all of his many years on this Earth.
April 5, 2011
knitandpurl commented on the word pleonasm
"If pleonasm is the soul of offense, at least I know when to shut up."
The No Variations by Luis Chitarroni, translated by Darren Koolman, p 13
September 16, 2013
knitandpurl commented on the word pleonasm
"If pleonasm is the soul of offense, at least I know when to shut up."
The No Variations by Luis Chitarroni, translated by Darren Koolman, p 13
September 16, 2013