Rhetorical Devices Vocabulary

Vocabulary flashcards covering 33 rhetorical devices discussed in the lecture notes

Hyperbole

Deliberate, extravagant exaggeration used for emphasis or effect.

Understatement

Presenting something as smaller or less important than it actually is.

Litotes

A form of understatement that affirms by negating the opposite (e.g., “not bad”).

Antithesis

Placement of contrasting ideas in balanced or parallel structure.

Hypophora

Posing a question and then immediately answering it.

Rhetorical Question

A question asked to produce an effect rather than to obtain an answer.

Procatalepsis

Anticipating an objection and addressing it before it is raised.

Distinctio

Explicitly defining or clarifying meaning to remove ambiguity.

Simile

A comparison between unlike things using “like” or “as.”

Metaphor

A direct figurative comparison stating one thing is another.

Analogy

An extended comparison that explains an unfamiliar idea by likening it to something familiar.

Allusion

A brief reference to a person, place, event, or work assumed to be known.

Eponym

Using a famous person’s name to describe an attribute associated with them.

Sententia

A short, wise saying or maxim used to sum up preceding material.

Exemplum

Providing a specific example to illustrate or support a point.

Climax

Arrangement of words, phrases, or ideas in order of increasing importance.

Parallelism/Chiasmus

Repeating grammatical structure; chiasmus inverts the pattern (ABBA).

Anadiplosis/Conduplicatio

Repetition of the last word of one clause at the start of the next; conduplicatio repeats a key word in successive clauses.

Metabasis

A transition summarizing what has been said while introducing what follows.

Parenthesis

Insertion of an interrupting word, phrase, or clause into a sentence.

Apostrophe

Direct address to an absent or imaginary person or personified abstraction.

Enumeratio

Supplying a list of details to expand an idea and add force.

Antanagoge

Balancing a negative point with a positive one to lessen impact.

Epithet

A descriptive adjective or phrase highlighting a characteristic quality.

Asyndeton/Polysyndeton

Asyndeton omits conjunctions for speed; polysyndeton uses many conjunctions for emphasis.

Zeugma

A single word modifies or governs two or more others in different senses.

Synecdoche/Metonymy

Synecdoche substitutes a part for the whole; metonymy substitutes something closely associated.

Hyperbaton

Departure from normal word order for emphasis.

Aporia

Expressing (often feigned) doubt or uncertainty about an idea.

Anaphora/Epistrophe/Symploce

Repetition at beginnings (anaphora), ends (epistrophe), or both (symploce) of successive clauses.

Amplification

Repeating a word while adding detail to emphasize its importance.

Personification

Attributing human qualities to nonhuman entities or ideas.

Parataxis

Juxtaposing clauses or phrases without subordination or coordinating conjunctions.