rhetorical terms 10/24/26

A comprehensive vocabulary review of literary, rhetorical, and reasoning terms covering definitions from figures of speech to mood.

Figures of speech

Exaggeration for emphasis, that make imaginative, rather than literal, comparisons or associations.

Generalization

when a writer bases a claim upon an isolated example or asserts that a claim is certain rather than probable.

Genre

A type of literary work, such as a novel or poem; there are also subgenres, such as science fiction or sonnet, within the larger genres.

Humor

Anything that causes laughter or amusement; up until the end of the Renaissance, humor meant a person's temperament.

Hyperbole

Exaggeration for emphasis or for rhetorical effect; never meant to be taken literally.

Image

A word or words, either figurative or literal, used to describe a sensory experience or an object perceived by the sense. An image is always a concrete representation.

Imagery

Words or phrases that use a collection of images to appeal to one or more of the five senses in order to create a mental picture.

Inference

A conclusion one can draw from the presented details.

Invective

A verbally abusive attack.

Irony

Expression of something which is contrary to the intended meaning; the words say one thing but mean another.

Jargon

The special language of a profession or group. The term usually has pejorative associations, with the implication that jargon is evasive, tedious, and unintelligible to outsiders.

Logic

The process of reasoning.

Logical fallacy

A mistake in reasoning.

Metaphor

A figure of speech in which one thing is referred to as another; implied comparison achieved through a figurative use of words; the word is used not in its literal sense, but in one analogous to it.

Mood

Similar to tone, it is the primary emotional attitude of a work (the feeling of the work; the atmosphere). Syntax is also a determiner of this term because sentence strength, length, and complexity affect pacing.