RHETORICAL QUESTION Definition & Meaning

View synonyms for

rhetorical question

[ ri-tawr-i-kuhl kwes-chuhn, -tor- ]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

noun

Rhetoric.

a question asked solely to produce an effect or to make an assertion of affirmation or denial and not to elicit a reply, as “Has there ever been a more perfect day for a picnic?” or “Are you out of your mind?”

rhetorical question

noun

a question to which no answer is required: used esp for dramatic effect. An example is Who knows? (with the implication Nobody knows )

rhetorical question

A question posed without expectation of an answer but merely as a way of making a point: “You don't expect me to go along with that crazy scheme, do you?”

Discover More

�y��vlog History and Origins

Origin of rhetorical question¹

First recorded in 1835–45

Discover More

Idioms and Phrases

A question asked without expecting an answer but for the sake of emphasis or effect. The expected answer is usually “yes” or “no.” For example, Can we improve the quality of our work? That's a rhetorical question . [Late 1800s]

Discover More

Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

Obviously, it was a rhetorical question as Saldaña’s triumphs have continued unabated.

From

Exhausted and exasperated, the quarterback had a rhetorical question for the cluster: “Can’t you let a guy sulk in peace?”

From

There was the virality of it all, of course: “Nasty” birthed memes to match your freak, a new rhetorical question — mantra, really — for a generation of people daring someone to meet them at their level.

From

It was a rhetorical question designed to impress on them his urgency and his demand that part of their job would be walking the streets with him.

From

It’s not a rhetorical question, but one with an answer: when that judge is someone he picked himself.

From

Related �y��vlogs

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Browse