Political Rhetoric Terms

noun a loud, aggressive, or indignant noise or commotion

verb to speak or behave in a noisy, aggressive, or indignant manner

• The politician's bluster did little to convince the public of his sincerity.
• Don't pay attention to his bluster, he's all talk and no action.
• He's just full of hot air, all that bluster and no substance.
• The storm's bluster was a powerful reminder of nature's force.

adjective easily convinced or too ready to believe things

• The credulous investors were easily swayed by the false promises of the fraudulent company.
• Don't be so credulous, always fact-check before believing everything you hear.
• I can't believe you fell for that scam, you're so credulous!
• Her credulous nature made her vulnerable to manipulation by those with ill intentions.

noun nonsense or foolish talk or thinking

verb to talk nonsense or foolishly

• The professor dismissed the student's essay as nothing but drivel.
• I can't stand listening to his constant drivel about the weather.
• Stop talking drivel and get to the point.
• Her mind was filled with drivel, unable to focus on anything important.

noun the practice or art of using language with fluency and aptness

adjective eloquent (having or exercising the power of fluent, forceful, and appropriate speech)

• His eloquence captivated the audience during his speech at the conference.
• She has a natural eloquence when she speaks, it's quite impressive.
• I was blown away by his mad eloquence skills during the debate.
• The eloquence of the sunset painted the sky with vibrant colors.

adjective excessive or immoderate in behavior or speech

• The intemperate weather made it difficult to travel safely.
• His intemperate behavior at the party caused quite a scene.
• She's known for her intemperate outbursts when she's upset.
• The intemperate growth of the city was causing strain on the infrastructure.

noun the quality of being biting or caustic in style or tone

adjective having a biting or caustic quality

• The critic's mordancy in his reviews often left the artists feeling disheartened.
• Her mordancy when joking around can sometimes be a bit too much.
• I can't handle his mordancy, it's just too harsh.
• The mordancy of his words cut through the tension in the room like a knife.

verb to state or represent (something) too strongly; exaggerate

• It is important not to overstate the impact of this new policy on the economy.
• Don't make it seem like the situation is worse than it actually is.
• Let's not blow this out of proportion.
• She tends to exaggerate things and always overstates the facts.

noun excessive self-esteem or exaggerated dignity; pretentiousness

• The speaker's pomposity was evident in the way he delivered his speech.
• His pomposity is getting on everyone's nerves.
• That guy's pomposity is off the charts.
• The pomposity of the old mansion gave it an air of grandeur.

noun the quality of pretending to be morally better than others, hypocrisy

• The politician's sanctimony was evident in his carefully crafted speeches.
• She couldn't stand his sanctimony whenever he talked about his charity work.
• His sanctimony was so annoying, like he thought he was better than everyone else.
• The sanctimony of the wealthy elite was like a thick fog, obscuring the reality of inequality.

noun a feeling and expression of contempt or disdain for someone or something

verb to feel or express scorn towards someone or something

• She could not hide her scorn for his lack of manners at the dinner party.
• He rolled his eyes in scorn when she suggested watching a romantic comedy.
• The popular kids at school always looked at me with scorn because I was different.
• The old building stood in silent scorn as the modern skyscrapers rose around it.

verb to change repeatedly one's attitude or opinions with respect to a cause, subject, etc.; equivocate

• The politician was known to tergiversate when faced with tough questions.
• Don't try to tergiversate your way out of this situation.
• Stop tergiversating and just tell me the truth.
• His constant tergiversation made it hard to trust anything he said.

verb to cause extreme fear or anxiety in someone

adjective causing extreme fear or anxiety

• The government took action to stop the group terrorizing the local community.
• The gang has been terrorizing the neighborhood for weeks now.
• Those bullies have been terrorizing kids at school.
• The dark clouds loomed overhead, terrorizing the peaceful town.

adjective eager or quick to argue or fight; aggressively defiant

• The truculent customer demanded to speak to the manager immediately.
• She has a truculent attitude whenever someone disagrees with her.
• The truculent guy at the bar started a fight for no reason.
• The storm clouds gathered in a truculent manner, signaling an impending downpour.

noun a word used to identify any of a class of people, places, or things

adjective a word naming an attribute of a noun, such as sweet, red, or technical

adverb a word or phrase that modifies or qualifies an adjective, verb, or other adverb or a word group, expressing a relation of place, time, circumstance, manner, cause, degree, etc.

pronoun a word that can function by itself as a noun phrase and that refers either to the participants in the discourse (e.g., I, you) or to someone or something mentioned elsewhere in the discourse (e.g., she, it, this)

preposition a word governing, and usually preceding, a noun or pronoun and expressing a relation to another word or element in the clause

conjunction a word used to connect clauses or sentences or to coordinate words in the same clause

article a word that is used with a noun to indicate the type of reference being made by the noun

• The politician vowed to never give up his stance on gun control, stating that any changes to the law would have to be pried from his cold, dead hands.
• I will never let go of my favorite book series, you'll have to take it from my cold, dead hands!
• No way am I letting go of my lucky hat, it's staying with me until they pry it from my cold, dead hands.
• She was so determined to succeed that she declared her dreams could only be taken away from her cold, dead hands.

adjective characterized by sudden and severe onset

• The patient presented with fulminant sepsis, requiring immediate intervention.
• The storm hit with fulminant force, knocking down trees and power lines.
• That party was fulminant, everyone was dancing and having a great time.
• Her fulminant temper caused arguments wherever she went.

adjective describing a sound or voice that is loud, strong, and enthusiastic

• The opera singer sang with a full-throated voice that filled the entire theater.
• She cheered for her favorite team with a full-throated roar.
• The comedian's joke got a full-throated laugh from the audience.
• The politician gave a full-throated defense of her policies during the debate.

noun bitterness or sharpness in words, manner, or temper

• The acrimonies between the two countries have been escalating for years.
• There's a lot of acrimonies in the office lately, everyone seems to be on edge.
• I can't stand the acrimonies between those two, it's so annoying.
• The acrimonies in her heart were slowly eating away at her happiness.