Saturday, March 21, 2020

75 Synonyms for Talk

75 Synonyms for Talk 75 Synonyms for â€Å"Talk† 75 Synonyms for â€Å"Talk† By Mark Nichol Talk, talk, talk it’s all the same. Or is it? There are many ways to talk, and each has its own word (or words) for it. Here’s a noncomprehensive roster of many synonyms for the noun and verb forms of talk (I had to stop somewhere): 1. Babble: enthusiastic or excessive talk, or meaningless sounds or nonsense words; to talk in this manner 2. Back talk: a disrespectful response; to respond disrespectfully 3. Backchat: see back talk, badinage, and gossip 4. Badinage: light, witty talk 5. Banter: see badinage, with a connotation of good-natured teasing or arguing; to engage in such talk 6. Barb: a hurtful and/or critical comment 7. Blandish: see cajole 8. Blandishments: see cajolery/cajolement 9. Blarney: nonsensical talk 10. Bluster: boastful or threatening talk; to speak boastfully or threateningly 11. Cackle: see chatter (verb only) 12. Cajole: to persuade with soothing or flattering remarks 13-14. Cajolery/cajolement: talk with the intent to persuade 15. Causerie: see chat (noun only) 16. Chaff: see badinage; also, to tease good-naturedly 17. Chat: an idle or inconsequential conversation; to engage in such talk 18. Chatter: quick, extensive, and/or aimless talk; to talk in such a manner 19. Chin music: see chat (noun only) 20. Chinwag: informal talking; to talk informally 21. Chitchat: see badinage 22. Circumlocution: evasive or verbose talk 23. Comment: an opinion or observation; to say something of this type 24. Confab: see chat (also, a formal meeting) 25. Confabulation: see chat and confab (also, something made up) 26. Confer: to exchange opinions or seek advice 27. Conference: a meeting, or an event consisting of presentations and/or meetings 28. Confess: to admit to a thought or action considered improper or shameful 29. Conversation: a talk between or among two or more people 30. Converse: to speak back and forth with one or more people 31. Crack: an uncomplimentary comment; also, to quickly say something, as when spontaneously telling a joke pertinent to a situation 32. Dig: see crack 33. Discuss: to engage in serious talk 34. Discussion: a serious talk 35. Dish: see gossip 36. Double-talk: intentionally confusing or ambiguous language, or talk that is at least partially meaningless; to engage in such talk 37. Fast-talk: to persuade or influence by deceptively authoritative and/or flattering speech 38. Flibbertigibbet: see gossip 39. Gab: see chatter 40. Gabfest: talking consisting of gab 41. Give-and-take: an exchange of ideas or comments 42. Gossip: see chat, with an additional connotation of talk or talking about the personal lives of one or more other people (also, someone who engages in such talk) 43. Jangle: see chat 44. Jaw: see chat 45. Jest: a humorous or mocking statement; to make such a statement 46. Natter: see chat 47. Negotiate: to talk in order to reach an agreement 48. Negotiation: a talk in which the speakers seek to reach an agreement 49. Palaver: a discussion or conference, especially one between unequal participants, or deceptive speech, or see chat; to talk idly, try to persuade or deceive, or come to terms 50. Parley: see confer, with the possible connotation of talk between antagonists to agree to terms to cease hostilities; to engage in such talk 51. Patter: quick or monotonous speech, as in delivering a humorous speech or in rote delivery of prayers; to speak in this manner 52. Pillow talk: romantic talk, such as would be engaged in while the speakers are in bed 53. Pleasantry: polite, inconsequential talk, or see banter and jest (nouns only) 54. Quip: a spontaneous observation or response; to say something of this type 55. Raillery: see banter and jest 56. Rap: see chat and patter 57-58. Recital/recitation: public delivery of read or memorized material, or of details or answers 59. Recite: to deliver read or memorized material, or details or answers 60. Remark: a statement of judgment or opinion, or a reference to something notable; to comment in this manner 61. Repartee: an exchange of clever, witty statements, a single such response, or skill in talking in this manner 62. Schmooze: see chat, with the connotation of one conducted so as to gain personal or professional advantage; to talk in this manner 63. Small talk: see badinage 64. Spit: to talk about things or opinions a listener disagrees with or disapproves of 65. Straight talk: frank, straightforward talk 66. Sweet nothings: flattering talk intended to charm a potential or existing romantic partner 67. Sweet talk: talk intended to persuade, or to endear oneself to the speaker; to engage in this kind of talk (the verb form is hyphenated) 68. Table talk: informal talking such as that heard during a dinner party 69. Tete-a-tete: an intimate or private talk 70. Waggery: see banter and jest 71. Wisecrack: a clever or sarcastic comment; to make such a comment 72. Wordplay: witty, playful talk 73. Yack: to talk at length 74. Yammer: to talk relentlessly, or to complain 75. Yap: excessive talk (also, slang for mouth) I’ll follow up with a list of more elaborate idioms about talk and talking like â€Å"shoot the breeze,† but let me (and other site visitors) known which synonyms I missed. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Vocabulary category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:The Royal Order of Adjectives 7 Tips for Writing a Film ReviewDrama vs. Melodrama

Thursday, March 5, 2020

Definition and Examples of Rhetorical Questions

Definition and Examples of Rhetorical Questions A rhetorical question is a  question (such as How could I be so stupid?) thats asked merely for effect with no answer expected. The answer may be obvious or immediately provided by the questioner. Also known as  erotesis, erotema, interrogatio, questioner, and reversed polarity question (RPQ). A rhetorical question can be an effective persuasive device, subtly influencing the kind of response one wants to get from an audience (Edward P.J. Corbett). See Examples and Observations, below. In English, rhetorical questions are commonly used in speech and in informal kinds of writing (such as advertisements). Rhetorical questions appear less frequently in academic discourse. Types of Rhetorical Questions Anthypophora and HypophoraEpiplexisErotesis Examples and Observations Something [rhetorical] questions all have in common . . . is that they are not asked, and are not understood, as ordinary information-seeking questions, but as making some kind of claim, or assertion, an assertion of the opposite polarity to that of the question.(Irene Koshik, Beyond Rhetorical Questions. John Benjamins, 2005)Marriage is a wonderful institution, but who would want to live in an institution?(H. L. Mencken)It did not occur to me to call a doctor, because I knew none, and although it did occur to me to call the desk and ask that the air conditioner be turned off, I never called, because I did not know how much to tip whoever might come- was anyone ever so young?(Joan Didion, Goodbye to All That. Slouching Towards Bethlehem, 1968)The means are at hand to fulfill the age-old dream: poverty can be abolished. How long shall we ignore this under-developed nation in our midst? How long shall we look the other way while our fellow human beings suffer? How long(Michael Harringt on, The Other America: Poverty in the United States, 1962) Must I argue the wrongfulness of slavery? Is that a question for republicans? Is it to be settled by the rules of logic and argumentation, as a matter beset with great difficulty, involving a doubtful application of the principle of justice, hard to understand?(Frederick Douglass, What to the Slave Is the Fourth of July? July 5, 1852)Hath not a Jew eyes?Hath not a Jew hands, organs, dimensions, senses, affections, passions?If you prick us, do we not bleed, if you tickle us, do we not laugh?If you poison us, do we not die?(Shylock in William Shakespeares Merchant of Venice)Can I ask a rhetorical question? Well, can I?(Ambrose Bierce)Arent you glad you use Dial?Dont you wish everybody did?(1960s television advertisement for Dial soap)To actually see inside your ear canalit would be fascinating, wouldnt it?(Letter from Sonus, a hearing-aid company, quoted in Rhetorical Questions Wed Rather Not Answer. The New Yorker, March 24, 2003)If practice makes perfect, and no ones perfect, then wh y practice?(Billy Corgan) Isnt it a bit unnerving that doctors call what they do practice?(George Carlin)Am I alone in thinking it odd that a people ingenious enough to invent paper, gunpowder, kites, and any number of other useful objects, and who have a noble history extending back three thousand years, havent yet worked out that a pair of knitting needles is no way to capture food?(Bill Bryson, Notes From a Small Island. Doubleday, 1995)The Indians [in the Oliver Stone movie The Doors] serve the same function they did in Dances With Wolves: they make the far more highly paid white movie actors seem soulful and important and in touch with ancient truths. Do Indians enjoy being used this way, as spiritual elves or cosmic merit badges?(Libby Gelman-Waxner [Paul Rudnick], Sex, Drugs, and Extra-Strength Excedrin. If You Ask Me, 1994)Rhetorical Questions in Shakespeares Julius CaesarRhetorical questions are those so worded that one and only one answer can be generally expected from the audience you are addressin g. In this sense, they are like the unmentioned premises in abbreviated reasoning, which can go unmentioned because they can be taken for granted as generally acknowledged.Thus, for example, Brutus asks the citizens of Rome: Who is here so base that would be a bondman? adding at once: If any, speak, for him have I offended. Again Brutus asks: Who is here so vile that will not love his country? Let him also speak, for him I have offended. Brutus dares to ask these rhetorical questions, knowing full well that no one will answer his rhetorical questions in the wrong way.So, too, Marc Antony, after describing how Caesars conquests filled Romes coffers, asks: Did this in Caesar seem ambitious? And after reminding the populace that Caesar thrice refused the crown that was offered him, Antony asks: Was this ambition? Both are rhetorical questions to which one and only one answer can be expected.(Mortimer Adler, How to Speak How to Listen. Simon Schuster, 1983) Are Rhetorical Questions Persuasive?By arousing curiosity, rhetorical questions motivate people to try to answer the question that is posed. Consequently, people pay closer attention to information relevant to the rhetorical question. . . .At this point, I think it is important to note that the fundamental problem in the study of rhetorical questions is the lack of focus on the persuasive effectiveness of different types of rhetorical questions. Clearly, an ironical rhetorical question is going to have a different effect on an audience than an agreement rhetorical question. Unfortunately, little research has been conducted on how different types of rhetorical questions operate in a persuasive context.(David R. Roskos-Ewoldsen, What Is the Role of Rhetorical Questions in Persuasion? Communication and Emotion: Essays in Honor of Dolf Zillmann, ed. by Jennings Bryant et al. Lawrence Erlbaum, 2003)Punctuating Rhetorical QuestionsFrom time to time, people become dissatisfied with the broa d application of the question mark and try to narrow it down, usually by proposing distinct marks for the different kinds of question. Rhetorical questions have attracted  particular attention, as- not requiring any answer- they are so different in kind. An Elizabethan printer, Henry Denham, was an early advocate, proposing in the 1580s a reverse question mark  (ØŸ) for this function, which came to be called a percontation mark (from a Latin word meaning a questioning act). Easy enough to handwrite, some late 16th century authors did sporadically use it, such as Robert Herrick. . . . But printers were unimpressed, and the mark never became standard. However, it has received a new lease of life online . . ..(David Crystal, Making a Point:  The Persnickety Story of English Punctuation. St. Martins Press, 2015) The Lighter Side of Rhetorical QuestionsHoward: We need to ask you a question.Professor Crawley: Really? Let me ask you a question. What does an accomplished entomologist with a doctorate and twenty years of experience do when the university cuts all his funding?Rajesh: Ask uncomfortable rhetorical questions to people?(Simon Helberg, Lewis Black, and Kunal Nayyar in The Jiminy Conjecture. The Big Bang Theory, 2008)Penny: Sheldon, have you any idea what time it is?Sheldon: Of course I do. My watch is linked to the atomic clock in Boulder, Colorado. Its accurate to one-tenth of a second. But as Im saying this, it occurs to me that you may have again been asking a rhetorical question.(Kaley Cuoco and Jim Parsons in The Loobenfeld Decay. The Big Bang Theory, 2008)Dr. Cameron: Why did you hire me?Dr. House: Does it matter?Dr. Cameron: Kind of hard to work for a guy who doesnt respect you.Dr. House: Why?Dr. Cameron: Is that rhetorical?Dr. House: No, it just seems that way because you cant think of an answer.(House, M.D.)I forget, which day did God create all the fossils?(An anti-creationism bumper sticker, cited by Jack Bowen in If You Can Read This: The Philosophy of Bumper Stickers. Random House, 2010)Grandma Simpson and Lisa are singing Bob Dylans Blowin in the Wind (How many roads must a man walk down/Before you call him a man?). Homer overhears and says, Eight!Lisa: That was a rhetorical question!Homer: Oh. Then, seven!Lisa: Do you even know what rhetorical means?Homer: Do I know what rhetorical means?(The Simpsons, When Grandma Simpson Returns) Pronunciation: ri-TOR-i-kal KWEST-shun