English Vocabulary: Literary and Rhetorical Terms Listen as a podcast Add to calendar

Active Voice (N)

Noun

- The opposite of passive voice; essentially ANY SENTENCE WITH AN ACTIVE VERB

- Example: "My mother cooks delicious meals."

Ambiguity (N)

Noun

- The quality of being open to more than one interpretation; inexactness.

- Example: "The theme of the book is kindness."

Anthology (N)

Noun

- Published collection of poems or other pieces of writing

- Example: "Our English class read an anthology of short stories written by famous American authors."

Aphorism (N)

Noun

- A brief statement of an opinion or elemental truth

- "Actions speak louder than words" is an aphorism that reminds people to demonstrate their intentions through behavior.

Archetype (N)

Noun

- A perfect example; an original pattern or model

- Example: A wise old woman who guides someone in a story

Aside (N)

Noun

- A remark that is not directly related to the main topic of discussion

- Example: When a character has a side conversation to show their true feelings on a given subject

Assertion (N)

Noun

- A statement made as part of an argument

- Example: "The student's assertion that school uniforms improve discipline needed evidence to support it."

Concede (V)

Verb

- Admit that something is true or valid after denying ot resisting it

- Example: "After reviewing the evidence, the debater had to concede that her opponent made a valid point."

Connotations (N)

Noun

- The mood, association, implications of a word or phrase as opposed to its exact meaning

- Example: The sunny day had a joyful connotation

Denotation (N)

Noun

- The literal meaning of a word; the dictionary definition

- Example: The denotation of joy is "a deep, intense emotion of great happiness, delight, or bliss, as well as a person or thing that serves as a source of that feeling."

Didactic (A)

Adjective

- Intended to teach, particularly in having moral instruction as an ulterior motive

- Example: “Children’s fables, such as The Tortoise and the Hare, are written with a didactic purpose to teach young readers the lesson that slow and steady wins the race.”

Discourse (N)

Noun

- Formal discussion of a topic in speech or writing

- Example: “The university hosted an academic discourse on climate change, where experts presented research and debated potential environmental policies.”

Ellipsis (N)

Noun

Three dots indicating words have been left out of a quotation, also creates suspense

- Example: “She began to read the quote aloud: "The study revealed significant progress..." omitting the technical details in the middle of the sentence.”

Esoteric (A)

Adjective

- Intended for or likely to be understood by only a small number of people with a specialized knowledge or interest in

- Example: “The research paper on quantum entanglement contained esoteric formulas that were only understood by theoretical physicists.”

Etymology (N)

Noun

- The study of the orgin of words and their historical uses

- Example: “Through etymology, we learn that the word biology comes from the Greek words bios (meaning "life") and logos(meaning "study").”

Euphemism (A)

Adjective

- A safer or nicer word for something others find inappropriate

- Example: “Instead of stating that the company was firing workers, the manager used the euphemism "downsizing the team."“

Expository (A)

Adjective

- Intended to explain or describe something

- Example: “The textbook chapter provided an expository overview detailing how photosynthesis converts sunlight into chemical energy.”

Expose (N)

Noun

- A report of the facts about something, especially a journalistic report that reveals something scandalous

- Example: “The investigative journalist published a front-page exposé detailing financial corruption within the local municipal government.”

Fallacy (N)

Noun

- A failure of logical reasoning

- Example: “Claiming that a plan will fail simply because it has never been tried before is a common logical fallacy.”

Independent Clause (N)

Noun

- A clause that can stand alone as a sentence; must have a noun and verb

- Example: “The storm cleared quickly is an independent clause because it contains a subject and a verb and expresses a complete thought.”

Jargon (N)

Noun

- Pattern of speech and vocabulary associated with a particular group of people

- “The doctors used medical jargon like "myocardial infarction" and "idiopathic" while discussing the patient's condition.”

Journal (N)

Noun

- Newpaper of magazine that deals with a particular subject or professional activity

- Example: “She published her new findings on marine life in a peer-reviewed scientific journal.”

Loose Sentence (N)

Noun

- An independent clause, followed by all sorts of debris (a sentence with the subject and main verb up front followed by other modifications)

- Example: “I arrived at the station on time, despite the heavy morning rain, the unexpected traffic delays, and the flat tire.”

Passive Voice (N)

Noun

- Something happens to someone

- Example: "The cake was decorated by the baker" is in the passive voice, whereas "The baker decorated the cake" is active.”

Pejorative (A)

Adjective

- Describing words or phrases that belittle or speak negativley of someone

- Example: “Using a pejorative remark to insult someone's intelligence diminishes the quality of a debate.”

Periodic Sentence (N)

Noun

- A sentence with several dependent clauses that precede the independent clause (a whole lot of modifiers with the main verb and subject at the end)

- Example: "After battling heavy traffic, enduring torrential rain, and navigating through endless detour signs, we finally reached our destination."

Periodical (N)

Noun

- Magazine, newspaper or journal published at regular intervals

- Example: “The public library subscribes to several monthly periodicals, including national news and science magazines.”

Persona (N)

Noun

- The person who is understood to be speaking a particular work

- “In his poetry collection, the author adopts the persona of an elderly sailor reflecting on a life spent at sea.”

Ponderous (A)

Adjective

- Extremley dull

- “The four-hour lecture on medieval tax law was so ponderous that half the audience fell asleep.”

Predicate (N)

Noun

- The formal term for the verb that conveys the meaning or carries the acton of the sentence

- “In the sentence "The dog slept peacefully on the rug," the phrase slept peacefully on the rug functions as the predicate.”