| Front | pleonasm \PLEE-uh-naz-uhm\ |
|---|---|
| Back | noun The use of more words than those necessary to express an idea; redundancy. [From Latin pleonasmus, from Greek pleonasmos, from pleonazein (to be in excess), from pleon (more). First recorded use: 1610. Pleonasm is often used for emphasis, as in free gift, true fact, or revert back. While such repetition is discouraged, sometimes it becomes part of the language and is used idiomatically, as in a hot water heater.] "Why some people walk around with a little dark cloud over their heads all the time, while others ceaselessly view the world through rose-colored glasses, to use a tired cliche ('tired cliche' is also a cliche, as well as a pleonasm, but what the heck)." - Otto Penzler; What a Wonderful Year!; The New York Sun; Dec 28, 2005. |
Tags: priorityhigh
Learn with these flashcards. Click next, previous, or up to navigate to more flashcards for this subject.
Next card: Foundling fownd-ling noun deserted abandoned infant child found
Previous card: Greek word latin bombinate bom-buh-nayt intransitive verb make
Up to card list: Hard English Vocabulary