How to Use rhetoric in a Sentence

rhetoric

noun
  • But your rhetoric, count me out.
    — CBS News, 31 Jan. 2026
  • This is their rhetoric right now.
    — Amir Ahmadi Arian, The Dial, 15 Jan. 2026
  • And stay away from too much rhetoric.
    — David Zimmermann, The Washington Examiner, 9 Feb. 2026
  • And rhetoric, it could be said, begets more rhetoric.
    — Robin Wright, New Yorker, 13 Apr. 2026
  • The rhetoric has not been subtle.
    — Faisal Kutty, MSNBC Newsweek, 29 Oct. 2025
  • That was not just campaign rhetoric.
    — Jacob Lane The Chicago Tribune, Arkansas Online, 17 Mar. 2026
  • There is a sharp irony in today’s rhetoric.
    — Alexanderia Baker-Haidara, semafor.com, 27 Feb. 2026
  • For years, the business rhetoric has been to grind.
    — Jodie Cook, Forbes.com, 18 Sep. 2025
  • This wasn’t just empty rhetoric.
    — Alex Ross, New Yorker, 19 Mar. 2026
  • People who know him say that this was not just rhetoric.
    — Dexter Filkins, New Yorker, 12 Jan. 2026
  • That rhetoric hasn’t stayed onstage.
    — Samantha-Jo Roth, The Washington Examiner, 22 Sep. 2025
  • Whether that is true or just fall camp rhetoric remains to be seen.
    — Kevin Reynolds, The Salt Lake Tribune, 2 Aug. 2023
  • And, often, this rhetoric around tough on crime is the first tack.
    — ABC News, 19 Dec. 2021
  • There’s more to answer for than just racist rhetoric and its reach.
    — Craig Jenkins, Vulture, 8 Apr. 2026
  • Angry Democrats need to tone down the rhetoric.
    — Boston Herald Editorial Staff, Boston Herald, 27 Sep. 2025
  • It will not be won with rhetoric but with performance.
    — Annabelle Huang, MSNBC Newsweek, 24 Sep. 2025
  • Of course, caustic rhetoric is as old as the country.
    — Bart Jansen, USA Today, 22 Feb. 2026
  • The science did not change when the rhetoric shifted.
    — Anjali Chaudhry, Forbes.com, 24 Jan. 2026
  • His tirades against Ukraine stood out for their bloodthirsty rhetoric.
    — Simon Shuster, Time, 17 July 2025
  • Our actions have not always matched our rhetoric.
    — Sara Tenenbaum, CBS News, 18 June 2026
  • The turnout was light, but the rhetoric was just as passionate.
    — Luke Money, Los Angeles Times, 6 May 2020
  • On that front, scale beats rhetoric and right now, China has both.
    — Felicia Jackson, Forbes.com, 3 Oct. 2025
  • The center doesn’t need to copy populist rhetoric.
    — Güney Yıldız, Forbes.com, 24 Jan. 2026
  • Would this rhetoric spread and become mainstream among many of my peers?
    — Eli Thompson, Rolling Stone, 8 Nov. 2025
  • Finding the right rhetoric won’t stop the bleeding.
    — Hannah Keyser, CNN Money, 22 Apr. 2026
  • My focus will be results, not rhetoric.
    — Lucas Robinson, San Diego Union-Tribune, 7 May 2026
  • Democrats say the president's rhetoric is far worse.
    — Phaedra Trethan, USA Today, 29 Apr. 2026
  • This campaign is about results, not rhetoric.
    — Eleanor Dearman, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 14 Feb. 2026
  • Sometimes the rhetoric is more direct.
    — Sarah Todd, STAT, 20 Feb. 2026
  • But with so much at stake in this election, this kind of rhetoric was inevitable.
    — Luke McGee, CNN, 6 Nov. 2019

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'rhetoric.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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