rhetorician
Master of eloquence
A rhetorician is someone skilled in rhetoric—the art of persuasive speaking or writing.
The term can be neutral, describing a scholar or practitioner of rhetorical techniques: Aristotle was among the first great rhetoricians.
But it often carries a negative edge, suggesting someone more concerned with style than substance: He's a skilled rhetorician but short on actual policy.
Skilled public speaker
- public speakerOne who addresses gatherings
- lecturerOne who teaches formally
- speechmakerOne who orates publicly
- elocutionistSkilled verbal presenter
declaimer · preacher · presenter · toastmaster · sermonizer · haranguer · demagogue · reciter
Fluent and persuasive
- articulateExpress clearly, or well-spoken
- fluentSpeaking smoothly, effortlessly
- expressiveShowing feelings outwardly
- silver-tonguedPersuasively articulate speaker
grandiloquent · mellifluous · eloquence · diction · verbosity · lucidity · clarity · vividness
Collective moral character
- pathosPity-evoking quality
- logosBrand identification symbols
- persuasionConvincing through reasoning
- suasionUrging without force
influence · appeal · credibility · sophistry · convince · sway · induce · compelling
Greek founder of formal logic
- CiceroAncient Rome's greatest speaker
- DemosthenesClassical Athenian statesman-orator
- SocratesAncient Athenian questioning philosopher
- sophistDeceptive rhetorical trickster
trivium · progymnasmata · canons · invention · arrangement · style · memory · delivery
Formal deductive argument structure
- deductionConclusion from premises
- inductionFormal admission process
- inferenceConclusion reached through reasoning
- fallacyError in reasoning
proposition · reasoning · validity · proof · premise · antecedent · consequent · refutation
Recurring narrative device
- metaphorImplied identity comparison
- simileComparison via "as"
- anaphoraRepeated opening words
- chiasmusInverted parallel construction
antithesis · hyperbole · litotes · metonymy · synecdoche · apostrophe · polysyndeton · epistrophe
One who argues
- polemicistAggressive debate writer
- interlocutorOne who converses
- adversaryEnemy in conflict
- opponentOne who contends against
contender · cross-examination · rebuttal · counterargument · refutation · disputation · forensics · proposition
orator
Skilled public speaker
- public speakerOne who addresses gatherings
- lecturerOne who teaches formally
- speechmakerOne who orates publicly
elocutionist · declaimer · preacher · presenter · toastmaster · sermonizer · haranguer · demagogue · reciter · expositor
eloquent
Fluent and persuasive
- articulateExpress clearly, or well-spoken
- fluentSpeaking smoothly, effortlessly
- expressiveShowing feelings outwardly
silver-tongued · grandiloquent · mellifluous · eloquence · diction · verbosity · lucidity · clarity · vividness · poetic
ethos
Collective moral character
- pathosPity-evoking quality
- logosBrand identification symbols
- persuasionConvincing through reasoning
suasion · influence · appeal · credibility · sophistry · convince · sway · induce · compelling · cogent
Aristotle
Greek founder of formal logic
- CiceroAncient Rome's greatest speaker
- DemosthenesClassical Athenian statesman-orator
- SocratesAncient Athenian questioning philosopher
sophist · trivium · progymnasmata · canons · invention · arrangement · style · memory · delivery
syllogism
Formal deductive argument structure
- deductionConclusion from premises
- inductionFormal admission process
- inferenceConclusion reached through reasoning
fallacy · proposition · reasoning · validity · proof · premise · antecedent · consequent · refutation · reductio
trope
Recurring narrative device
chiasmus · antithesis · hyperbole · litotes · metonymy · synecdoche · apostrophe · polysyndeton · epistrophe · zeugma
disputant
One who argues
- polemicistAggressive debate writer
- interlocutorOne who converses
- adversaryEnemy in conflict
opponent · contender · cross-examination · rebuttal · counterargument · refutation · disputation · forensics · proposition · opposition
- persuaderspersuader, orator, orators, public speaker, speechmaker
- scholarsscholar, professors, professor, researcher, researchers
- Classical EducatorsSocrates, Plato, Aristotle, Cicero, Seneca
- Greek educationacademy, lyceum, gymnasium, palestra, pedagogy
- humanities careershistorian, philosopher, linguist, archaeologist, anthropologist
- literary scholarsscholar, critic, literary critics, professor, philologists
rhetoricianstraight talker
One who communicates directly
truth-teller · literalist · logician · man of few words · scientist
rhetoricianlistener
One who attends aurally
hearer · writer · contemplative · introvert