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rhetorisch

rhetorical

adjective re-TO-rish Rare
Communication Speech

Usage Note

Rhetorisch describes something relating to rhetoric or persuasive speech. The fixed phrase rhetorische Frage — rhetorical question — is extremely common in German. Eine rhetorische Figur — a rhetorical device. Used in literary analysis, politics and everyday discourse.

Examples

"Das war eine rhetorische Frage — ich erwarte keine Antwort."

Natural Translation

That was a rhetorical question — I am not expecting an answer.

Literal Translation

That was a rhetorical question — I expect no answer.

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