PHIL 1300 - rhetorical devices/slanters

euphemism

words used to convey positive or neutral attitudes or emotions in place of more negative ones

dysphemism

a word with strongly negative connotations or emotional overtones used to impute or emphasize or exaggerate negative aspects of what is being described

words used to convey negative attitudes or emotions in place of neutral or positive one

rhetorical/persuasive definition

a statement that takes the form of a definition that is used to induce an attitude towards what is being described

rhetorical/persuasive explanation

not really an explanation, just a statement worded to look like one

stereotype

hasty or unwarranted inference about a whole group of individuals based on (real or imagined) facts about particular members of the group

fallacious generalizations designed to get people to take an attitude (usually negative, but sometimes positive) towards members of the group

innuendo

uses words with neutral or positive associations to suggest or insinuate something negative or deprecatory (expressing disapproval or criticism)

used to convey a message without being explicitly committed to it, or may be carried by what you don’t say

loaded question

a particularly sleazy form of innuendo - an unwarranted assumption is insinuated into the form of the question

weasler

an unemphasized qualifying word or phrase that enables the speaker to make what seems to be a strong or striking claim while actually making only a weaker or more trivial claim

typical weasel words include: can, may, up to, possibly, surveyed, polled, etc.

downplayers

opposite tendency of a weasler - designed to deflate the significance of what is being reported

common downplaying words: merely, just, only, so-called

ridicule

the use of derision, sarcasm, or laughter, or mockery to disparage a person or idea

comes in a lot of forms, from simply laughing out loud to sarcastically phrased comments or exaggerated facial expressions

hyperbole

an exaggeration or overstatement

understatement

opposite of hyperbole, just as effective in getting across the would-be exaggerator’s point 

proof surrogate

a device that indicates, or least suggests, that there is proof or evidence or authority for a claim, without actually presenting any support for it

rhetorical/persuasive analogy

a misleading comparison, one in which the two things being compared are really not all that analogous

rhetorical/persuasive comparisons

often not even meant to point out important points of analogy between the compared items - simply used to transfer the connotations associated with something to the person or thing under discussion