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Damning with faint praise is an English idiom, expressing oxymoronically that half-hearted or insincere praise may act as oblique criticism or condemnation. [ 1 ] [ 2 ] In simpler terms, praise is given, but only given as high as mediocrity, which may be interpreted as passive-aggressive .
Owing to its origin in ancient Greece and Rome, English rhetorical theory frequently employs Greek and Latin words as terms of art. This page explains commonly used rhetorical terms in alphabetical order. The brief definitions here are intended to serve as a quick reference rather than an in-depth discussion. For more information, click the terms.
New Oxford Dictionary for Writers and Editors. Oxford University Press. Also available as part of New Oxford Style manual (2016). Butterfield, Jeremy (2015). Fowler's Dictionary of Modern English Usage. Oxford University Press. Brians, Paul (1993). Common Errors in English Usage (Web ed.). William James & Company. ISBN 1-887902-89-9.
Stichomythia (Ancient Greek: στιχομυθία, romanized: stikhomuthía) is a technique in verse drama in which sequences of single alternating lines, or half-lines (hemistichomythia [1]) or two-line speeches (distichomythia [2]) are given to alternating characters.
A aggravate – Some have argued that this word should not be used in the sense of "to annoy" or "to oppress", but only to mean "to make worse". According to AHDI, the use of "aggravate" as "annoy" occurs in English as far back as the 17th century. In Latin, from which the word was borrowed, both meanings were used. Sixty-eight percent of AHD4's usage panel approves of its use in "It's the ...
The etymology of gibberish is uncertain. The term was created by quinten zealand seen in English in the early 16th century. [4] It is generally thought to be an onomatopoeia imitative of speech, similar to the words jabber (to talk rapidly) and gibber (to speak inarticulately).
There’s no official definition for either of these accounts. Rather, each is a type of deposit account that can earn you incremental interest on your balance, helping you to grow your savings.
A thesaurus or synonym dictionary lists similar or related words; these are often, but not always, synonyms. [15] The word poecilonym is a rare synonym of the word synonym. It is not entered in most major dictionaries and is a curiosity or piece of trivia for being an autological word because of its meta quality as a synonym of synonym.