pleonastic
Adjective: 1. Using more words than necessary to express an idea; redundant in expression: The word describes language that contains unnecessary repetition of meaning, often using different words that say the same thing. It is a stylistic term used in rhetoric and linguistics to critique wordiness.
The term is used to describe phrases, expressions, or a style of writing or speaking that is unnecessarily wordy due to repetition of meaning.
- In Linguistics and Stylistics: "Pleonasm" is the noun form and refers to the rhetorical device or the instance of using redundant words. It can sometimes be used intentionally for emphasis, clarity, or a specific stylistic effect, though it is often viewed as a fault in concise writing.
- The author's use of pleonasm was deliberate, aiming to create a rhythmic, overflowing quality in the speech.
- Pleonasm (noun): The use of more words than are necessary to convey meaning; redundancy.
- "A tiny little speck" is an example of a pleonasm.
- Pleonastically (adverb): In a pleonastic manner.
- The idea was expressed pleonastically.
The term is almost exclusively used in the context of language, rhetoric, and writing style to describe verbal redundancy. It does not typically apply to other forms of excess or repetition.
- Redundant: Unnecessarily repetitive or superfluous.
- Tautological: In logic and rhetoric, repeating the same idea in different, often logically equivalent, words (e.g., "a circle that is round").
- Verbose: Using more words than needed; wordy.
- Periphrastic: Expressing an idea in a roundabout way; circumlocutory.
- Concise: Giving a lot of information clearly and in a few words.
- Succinct: Briefly and clearly expressed.
- Laconic: Using very few words.
While there is no common idiom using the word "pleonastic" itself, it describes the flaw inherent in many common redundant phrases, such as: * "End result" (a result is inherently final). * "Past history" (history is inherently past). * "Unexpected surprise" (a surprise is inherently unexpected).
- repetition of same sense in different words
- `a true fact' and `a free gift' are pleonastic expressions
- the phrase `a beginner who has just started' is tautological
- at the risk of being redundant I return to my original proposition- J.B.Conant