Rhetoric Terms 1-45

Question 1

Allusion

Answer 1

An indirect reference, often to another text or an historic event

Question 2

Analogy

Answer 2

An extended comparison between two seemingly dissimilar things

Question 3

Anaphora

Answer 3

The repetition of words at the beginning of successive clauses

Question 4

Anecdote

Answer 4

A short account of an interesting event

Question 5

Antimetabole

Answer 5

The repetition of words in an inverted order to sharpen a contrast

Question 6

Antithesis

Answer 6

Parallel structure that juxtaposes contrasting ideas

Question 7

Aphorism

Answer 7

A short, astute statement of a general truth

Question 8

Archaic diction

Answer 8

The use of words common to an earlier time period; antiquated language

Question 9

Assertion

Answer 9

An emphatic statement; declaration. An assertion supported by evidence becomes an argument.

Question 10

Asyndeton

Answer 10

Leaving out conjunctions between words, phrases, or clauses.

Question 11

Colloquialism

Answer 11

an informal or conversational use of language

Question 12

Concession

Answer 12

A reluctant acknowledgement or yielding

Question 13

Counterargument

Answer 13

a challenge to a position; an opposing argument; credible worthy of belief; trustworthy

Question 14

Elegiac

Answer 14

mournful over what has passed or been lost; often used to describe tone

Question 15

Epigram

Answer 15

A brief witty statement

Question 16

Hortatory

Answer 16

Urging, or strongly encouraging

Question 17

Hyperbole

Answer 17

Exaggeration for the purpose of emphasis

Question 18

Imagery

Answer 18

Vivid use of language that evokes a reader’s sense

Question 19

Inversion

Answer 19

A sentence in which the verb precedes the subject

Question 20

Irony

Answer 20

A contradiction between what is said and what is meant; incongruity between action and result

Question 21

Juxtaposition

Answer 21

Placement of two things side by side for emphasis

Question 22

Metaphor

Answer 22

A figure of speech or trope through which one thing is spoken as if it were something else, thus making the comparison

Question 23

Metonymy

Answer 23

Use of an aspect of something to represent the whole

Question 24

Narration

Answer 24

Retelling an event or series of events

Question 25

Nominalization

Answer 25

Turing a verb or adjective into a noun

Question 26

Oxymoron

Answer 26

A figure of speech that combines two contradictory terms

Question 27

Paradox

Answer 27

A statement that seems contradictory but is actually true

Question 28

Parallelism

Answer 28

The repetition of similar grammatical or syntactical patterns

Question 29

Parody

Answer 29

A piece that imitates and exaggerates the prominent features of another; used for comic effect or ridicule

Question 30

Persona

Answer 30

The speaker, voice, or character assumed by the author in a piece of writing

Question 31

Personification

Answer 31

Assigning lifelike characteristics to inanimate objects

Question 32

Polemic

Answer 32

An argument against an idea, usually regarding philosophy, politics, or religion

Question 33

Polysyndeton

Answer 33

the deliberate use of a series of conjunctions

Question 34

Propaganda

Answer 34

A negative term for writing designed to sway opinion rather than present information

Question 35

refutation

Answer 35

A denial of validity of an opposing argument. In order to sound reasonable, refutations often follow a concession that an opposing argument may be true or reasonable.

Question 36

Rhetorical question

Answer 36

a question asked more to produce an effect than to summon an answer

Question 37

Scheme

Answer 37

A pattern of words or sentence construction used for rhetorical effect

Question 38

Simile

Answer 38

a figure of speech that uses "like" or "as" to compare two things

Question 39

straw man

Answer 39

a logical fallacy that involves the creation of an easily refutable position; misrepresenting, then attacking an opponent's position

Question 40

tone

Answer 40

the speaker's attitude toward the subject or audience

Question 41

Topic sentence

Answer 41

A sentence, most often appearing at the beginning of a paragraph that announces the paragraph's idea and often unites it with the work's thesis

Question 42

Trope

Answer 42

Artful diction; the use of language in a nonliteral way; also called a figure of speech

Question 43

Understatement

Answer 43

lack of emphasis in a statement or point; restraint in language often used for ironic effect

Question 44

Voice

Answer 44

In rhetoric, a distinctive quality in the style and tone of writing

Question 45

Zeugma

Answer 45

A construction in which one word(usually a verb) modifies or governs--often in a different, sometimes incongruent ways-- two or more words in a sentence.