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Identification - LogosA glossary of grammatical and rhetorical terms, from IDENTIFICATION to LOGOS. Click on a term for definitions, examples, word history, pronunciation guide, and links to related articles.
identification
Any of the wide variety of means by which an author may establish a shared sense of values, attitudes, and interests with his or her readers. idiom
An expression that means something other than the literal meanings of its individual words. imperative mood
The form of the verb that makes direct commands and requests. imperative sentence
A sentence that gives advice or instructions or that expresses a request or a command. indefinite article
The indefinite articles "a" and "an" refer to generalized nouns. indefinite pronoun
A pronoun that refers to an unspecified person or thing. independent clause
A group of words made up of a subject and a predicate. indicative mood
The mood of the verb used in ordinary objective statements. indirect object
A noun or pronoun that is indirectly affected by the action of a verb. indirect question
A sentence that reports a question and ends with a period rather than a question mark. induction
Method of reasoning by which a rhetor collects a number of instances and forms a generalization that is meant to apply to all instances. infinitive
A verbal (often preceded by "to") that functions as a noun, an adjective, or an adverb. initial
The first letter of a word or name or of each word in a phrase. innuendo
An indirect or subtle, usually derogatory implication in expression; an insinuation. intensifier
A word that emphasizes another word or phrase. interjection
The part of speech that usually expresses emotion and is capable of standing alone. interrogative pronoun
A pronoun that introduces a question. interrogative sentence
A sentence that asks a question. intransitive verb
A verb that does not take a direct object. invective
Denunciatory or abusive language; discourse that casts blame on somebody or something. invention
The discovery of the resources for persuasion inherent in any given rhetorical problem. irony
Use of words to convey the opposite of their literal meaning. A statement or situation where the meaning is directly contradicted by the appearance or presentation of the idea. irregular verb
A verb that does not follow the general rules for verb forms. isocolon
A succession of phrases of approximately equal length and corresponding structure. Janus word
A word having opposite or contradictory meanings. jargon
The specialized language of a professional, occupational, or other group, often meaningless to outsiders. judicial
Speech or writing that considers the justice or injustice of a certain charge or accusation. kairos
The opportune time and/or place, the right time to say or do the right thing. language
A human system of communication that uses arbitrary signals, such as voice sounds, gestures, or written symbols. letter
An alphabetic symbol. lexicon
(1) The collection of words--the internalized dictionary--that every speaker of the language has. (2) A stock of terms used in a particular profession, subject, or style. linguistics
The systematic study of language. linking verb
A verb that joins the subject of a sentence to a subject complement. lipogram
A text that purposefully excludes a particular letter of the alphabet. litotes
A figure of speech consisting of an understatement in which an affirmative is expressed by negating its opposite. logos
In classical rhetoric, the means of persuasion by demonstration of the truth, real or apparent. |
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