Both Uses of
rhetoric
in
Change of Heart, by Picoult
- They: the establishment, the lawmakers, the ones assuaging their guilt over their own actions with rhetoric.†
*rhetoric = the use of (or study of using) words to make a point
- He's using rhetoric to distract us from the basic truth here.†
Definition:
the use of (or study of using) words to make a point -- typically implying skillful use
Rhetoric is used with many connotations. "Effective rhetoric" has a positive connotation, If someone says something is "just rhetoric," they're implying that the words may make a good surface impression, but they are lacking in substance.