rhetorical

rhetorical (rɪˈtɒrɪk^əl)

—*adj*
1.	concerned with effect or style rather than content or meaning; bombastic
2.	of or relating to rhetoric or oratory

rhe'torically

—*adv*

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Etymonline

Word Origin & History

rhetorical

late 15c., "eloquent," from L. rhetoricus (see rhetoric). Meaning "pertaining to rhetoric" is from 1520s. Rhetorical question is from 1843.

Example sentences

The rhetorical magic of the speech-what made it extraordinary-was that it was,

at once, both unequivocal and healing.

Again, declaring that his speech is plain, he disclaimed any rhetorical show of

elegance.

Any one of these and several other rhetorical flourishes would have dominated

and defined a lesser speech.

The distinction between investing and spending is often rhetorical, but not

always.

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Matching Quote

"Art has always been this—pure interrogation, rhetorical question less the rhetoric—whatever else it may have been obliged by social reality to appear."

-Samuel Beckett