rhetorical

adjectivenounattested in dialogue

United Kingdom//ɹɪˈtɒɹ.ɪ.kəl//
United Kingdom//ɹəˈtɒɹ.ɪ.kəl//
United States//ɹɪˈtɔɹɪkəl//
United States//ɹəˈtɔɹɪkəl//

Part of or similar to rhetoric, the use of language as a means to persuade.

adjective

1
Part of or similar to rhetoric, the use of language as a means to persuade.
2
Not earnest, or presented only for the purpose of an argument.
Unfortunately, she has used the attack as a launch pad for a bizarre and undercooked exercise in rhetorical bothsidesism, in which she argues that American Jews should be just as worried about college students who overzealously criticize Israel as they are about the aspiring Einsatzgruppen who shoot up shuls.
3
Asked for dramatic or persuasive effect, rather than to get an answer.
'"Are you an idiot? Actually, don't answer that, it was rhetorical."

Etymology

From Middle English rethorycal, rethoricalle, rethorycall, from rethorik, rhetoric (noun) or Latin rēthoricus, rhētoricus, from Ancient Greek ῥητορικός (rhētorikós, “concerning public speaking”). By surface analysis, rhetoric + -al.

noun

1
datedA study or exercise in rhetoric.

Forms

plural: rhetoricals

Rey · A surname from Spanish.Reyes · A surname from Spanish.Reynolds · A surname originating as a patronymic, derived from Reynold.

rhetorical · Part of or similar to rhetoric, the use of language as a means to persuade.

rhino · A rhinoceros.Rhoda · A female given name from Ancient Greek.Rhode · for a person who either lived near a woodland clearing, or…

The neighbouring pages — Alphabetical order follows the rules of the language, not byte values: an accent decides only between two otherwise identical words, and Spanish files Ñ as a letter of its own.