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pleonasm

 

Definitions from WordNet

Noun pleonasm has 1 sense
  1. pleonasm - using more words than necessary; "a tiny little child"
    --1 is a kind of
    verboseness, verbosity

Definitions from the Web

Pleonasm

Definition:

A pleonasm, in linguistics, refers to the use of more words or parts of words than necessary to convey a certain meaning. It is a redundancy that emphasizes a point or adds emphasis to a statement.

Senses:

  1. As a figure of speech: Pleonasm is used as a figure of speech to intensify or exaggerate a particular thought or concept.
  2. In linguistic analysis: Pleonasm is examined to identify unnecessary or redundant elements in a sentence or phrase.

Usages:

  • Popular usage: Pleonasm is frequently used in everyday language to add emphasis, create powerful imagery, or in certain idiomatic expressions.
  • Local usage: Certain dialects or regions may have specific pleonastic phrases or expressions that are unique to that area.

Examples:

Figure of speech:

  1. "The bright, shining sun" (the adjective "bright" already implies brightness, making "shining" unnecessary)
  2. "It's freezing cold outside!" (using both "freezing" and "cold" emphasizes the extreme coldness)

Linguistic analysis:

  1. "I saw it with my own eyes." (using both "saw" and "eyes" is redundant as seeing implies using one's eyes)
  2. "She nodded her head in agreement." (nodding is a gesture performed by the head, so mentioning both is unnecessary)

Popular usage:

  • "I completely, totally, and utterly disagree with you." (using multiple adverbs to intensify the disagreement)
  • "I absolutely love chocolate!" (using "absolutely" adds emphasis to the strong feeling of love)

Local usage:

  • "The party was a big, massive hit!" (using both "big" and "massive" to emphasize the success)
  • "They gave me this huge, giant cake!" (using both "huge" and "giant" to describe the size of the cake)

Related Products:

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