Rhetorical Terms

Question 0

Ad Populum

Answer 0

Appealing to irrational fears and prejudices of the audience.

Question 1

Ad Hominen

Answer 1

Switching argument from a discussion of the issues to a discussion of the person/personality

Question 2

Anadiplosis

Answer 2

Repetition of the last word of a clause at the beginning of the next.

Question 3

Analepsis

Answer 3

Flashback

Question 4

Analogy

Answer 4

A is to B as C is to D

Question 5

Antithesis

Answer 5

Juxtaposition of contrasting ideas, emphasized by parallel structure.

Question 6

Anaphora

Answer 6

Repetition of the same word or group of words at the beginnings of successive clauses.

Question 7

Epistrophe

Answer 7

Device of repetition in which the same expression is repeated at the end of two or more clauses.

Question 8

Metonymy

Answer 8

Figure of speech in which a person, place, or thing, is referred to by something closely associated with it.

Question 9

Rhetorical Question

Answer 9

Asking a question, not for the purpose of eliciting an answer but for the purpose of asserting or denying something.

Question 10

Asyndeton

Answer 10

Deliberate omission of conjunctions between a series of related clauses.

Question 11

Ellipsis

Answer 11

Deliberate omission of a word or of words which are readily implied by the context.

Question 12

Apophasis

Answer 12

A rhetorical figure in which one makes an assertion while pretending to deny it.

Question 13

Anastrophe

Answer 13

Inversion of the usual, normal, or logical order of the parts of a sentence.

Question 14

Apostrophe

Answer 14

Calling out to the imaginary, dead, or absent person, or to a place or thing, or a personified idea.

Question 15

Antimetabole

Answer 15

Repetition of words in successive clauses, in reverse grammatical order.

Question 16

Chiasmus

Answer 16

Reversal of grammatical structured in successive phrases or clauses.

Question 17

Paradox

Answer 17

Statement that initially appears to be self-contradictory, but on closer examination, makes sense.

Question 18

Periodic Sentence

Answer 18

Usually a complex sentence that has no subordinate or descriptive elements following the main clause.

Question 19

Euphemism

Answer 19

Substitution of an agreeable or inoffensive expression for one that might offend or express something unpleasant.

Question 20

Polysyndeton

Answer 20

A sentence which uses a conjunction with no commas to separate the items in a series. Instead of X, Y, and Z.

Question 21

Parallel Structure

Answer 21

The repetition of words or phrases that have similar grammatical structures.

Question 22

Loose sentence

Answer 22

One in which the main clause come first, followed by further dependent grammatical units.

Question 23

Hyperbole

Answer 23

A figure of speech that uses an incredible exaggeration or overstatement, for effect.

Question 24

Oxymoron

Answer 24

A figure of speech that combines opposite or contradictory terms in a brief phrase.

Question 25

Allegory

Answer 25

Story or poem in which characters, settings, and events stand for other people or events or for abstract ideas or qualities.

Question 26

Epanalepsis

Answer 26

Device of repetition in which the same expression is repeated both at the begging and at the end of a line.

Question 27

Litotes

Answer 27

Form of understatement in which the positive form is emphasized through the negation of the negative form.

Question 28

Telegraphic sentence

Answer 28

Sentence shorter than five words in length.

Question 29

Hortatory sentence

Answer 29

A statement urging others to join in some action