Rhetoric & Persuasion Vocabulary

These flashcards cover important vocabulary and definitions from the lecture on Rhetoric and Persuasion.

Satire

A genre of literature or media that uses humor, irony, or exaggeration to criticize or mock individuals, societal norms, or institutions.

Ethos

An appeal to credibility or ethics, persuading the audience through the authority or character of the speaker.

Logos

An appeal to logic and reason, utilizing facts, data, and rational arguments to persuade the audience.

Pathos

An appeal to emotion, aiming to evoke feelings in the audience to persuade them.

Truthiness

A term coined by Stephen Colbert referring to the quality of preferring facts one wishes to be true over facts known to be true.

Fake News

Misleading or false information presented as news that can influence public opinion, often conflating with alternative views.

Rhetoric

The art of effective or persuasive speaking or writing, often employing figure of speech and other compositional techniques.

Anecdote

A short, amusing or interesting story about a real incident or person, often used to illustrate a point.

Alliteration

The occurrence of the same letter or sound at the beginning of adjacent or closely connected words, used in persuasive techniques.

Hyperbole

Exaggerated statements or claims not meant to be taken literally, used for emphasis or effect.

Euphony

The quality of being pleasing to the ear, especially through a harmonious combination of words.

Metonymy

A figure of speech in which one word or phrase is substituted with another with which it is closely associated.

Connotation

The associated or secondary meaning of a word or expression, in addition to its explicit or primary meaning.

Denotation

The explicit or literal meaning of a word, as opposed to its connotation.

Euphemism

A mild or indirect word or phrase used to replace one that may be considered harsh or blunt.

Synecdoche

A figure of speech in which a part is made to represent the whole or vice versa.

Parallelism

The use of similar structures in two or more clauses or sentences to create rhythm and emphasize ideas.