rhetorical things 1

Asyndeton

The omission of conjunctions, as in 'He has provided the poor with jobs, with opportunity, with self-respect.'

Litotes

Understatement where an affirmative is expressed by the negative of its contrary, as in 'not bad at all.'

Chiasmus

Rhetoric reversal of the order of words in the second of two parallel phrases, e.g., 'He came in triumph and in defeat departs.'

Polysyndeton

The use of several conjunctions in close succession, e.g., 'he ran and jumped and laughed for joy.'

Anaphora

The repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of successive clauses, e.g., 'I needed a drink, I needed a vacation.'

Anadiplosis

Repetition of the last word of one line or clause to begin the next, e.g., 'Fear is the path to the dark side. Fear leads to anger.'

Anachronism

Something or someone not in the correct historical or chronological time, e.g., 'The sword is an anachronism in modern warfare.'

Isocolon/Parison

A rhetorical term for a succession of clauses of approximately equal length and corresponding structure.

Synecdoche

A figure of speech where a part is used to represent the whole, e.g., 'All hands on deck.'

Metonymy

A figure of speech where one word or phrase is substituted with another closely associated term, e.g., 'The White House asked for air time.'

Zeugma

The use of a word to modify or govern two or more words in different ways, e.g., 'He lost his coat and his temper.'

Apostrophe

A digression in the form of an address to someone not present or to a personified object or idea.

Conundrum

A riddle whose answer involves a pun.

Invective

A verbally abusive attack.

Circumlocution

The use of too many words to express an idea, often as a means of evasion.

Begging the question

Supporting a claim with a reason that is a restatement of the claim.

Adage

A saying or proverb embodying common wisdom, e.g., 'It is always darkest before the dawn.'

Verisimilitude

The quality of realism that persuades the reader of its truthfulness.

Malapropism

A comically inaccurate use of a word.

Cadence

The rising and falling rhythm of speech.

False Analogy

Error in assuming that because two things are alike in some ways, they are alike in all.

Hasty Generalization

Unsound inductive inference based on insufficient evidence.

Non sequitur

A statement or idea that fails to logically follow from the previous one.

Post Hoc

Assuming that because one thing follows another, it is held to cause the other.

Ad hominem

Attacking the person who made an assertion rather than the assertion itself.

Polyphrasis

Excessive talking.

Diatribe

A bitter, sharply abusive denunciation or criticism.

Epistrophe

The repetition of a word or words at the end of successive verses or clauses.

Apposition

A syntactic relation where one expression identifies or supplements another expression.

Appeal to authority

Persuading by appealing to the respect people have for a famous person or institution.

Appeal to ignorance

Assuming a statement is true if it cannot be proved false.

Concession

An argumentative strategy acknowledging the opponent's valid point.

Encomium

A tribute or eulogy glorifying people, objects, ideas, or events.

False dilemma

A fallacy offering a limited number of options when more are available.

Refutation

The part of an argument where opposing views are anticipated and countered.

Running style

Sentence style that mimics a rambling, associative syntax of conversation.

Explication

An explanation or interpretation.

Imperative tone/sentence

A command.

Interrogative

A questioning sentence.

Exclamatory

A sentence expressing enthusiasm or excitement.

Declarative

A statement or fact.

Infinitives

'To be' verbs used to express actions, e.g., 'to come', 'to show', 'to dance.'