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Pleonasm. Pleonasm (/ ˈpliː.əˌnæzəm /; from Ancient Greek πλεονασμός (pleonasmós), from πλέον (pléon) 'to be in excess') [1][2] is redundancy in linguistic expression, such as in "black darkness," "burning fire," "the man he said," [3] or "vibrating with motion." It is a manifestation of tautology by traditional ...
A double negative is a construction occurring when two forms of grammatical negation are used in the same sentence. This is typically used to convey a different shade of meaning from a strictly positive sentence ("You're not unattractive" vs "You're attractive"). Multiple negation is the more general term referring to the occurrence of more ...
A figure of speech or rhetorical figure is a word or phrase that intentionally deviates from straightforward language use or literal meaning to produce a rhetorical or intensified effect (emotionally, aesthetically, intellectually, etc.). [1][2] In the distinction between literal and figurative language, figures of speech constitute the latter.
A passive voice construction is a grammatical voice construction that is found in many languages. [1] In a clause with passive voice, the grammatical subject expresses the theme or patient of the main verb – that is, the person or thing that undergoes the action or has its state changed. [2] This contrasts with active voice, in which the ...
Paraprosdokian – a sentence in which the latter half takes an unexpected turn. Parataxis – using juxtaposition of short, simple sentences to connect ideas, as opposed to explicit conjunction. Parenthesis – an explanatory or qualifying word, clause, or sentence inserted into a passage that is not essential to the literal meaning.
A famous example for lexical ambiguity is the following sentence: " Wenn hinter Fliegen Fliegen fliegen, fliegen Fliegen Fliegen hinterher. ", meaning "When flies fly behind flies, then flies fly in pursuit of flies." [39][circular reference] It takes advantage of some German nouns and corresponding verbs being homonymous.
Vice is a stock character of the medieval morality plays.While the main character of these plays was representative of every human being (and usually named Mankind, Everyman, or some other generalizing of humanity at large), the other characters were representatives of (and usually named after) personified virtues or vices who sought to win control of man's soul.
Use–mention distinction. In analytic philosophy, [1] a fundamental distinction is made between the use of a term and the mere mention of it. [2][3] Many philosophical works have been "vitiated by a failure to distinguish use and mention". [2] The distinction can sometimes be pedantic, especially in simple cases where it is obvious. [2][4]