rhetorical question

[ ri-tawr-i-kuhl kwes-chuhn, -tor- ]

noun

, Rhetoric.

1. a question asked solely to produce an effect or to make an assertion of affirmation or denial and not to elicit a reply, as “Has there ever been a more perfect day for a picnic?” or “Are you out of your mind?”

rhetorical question

noun

1. a question to which no answer is required: used esp for dramatic effect. An example is Who knows? (with the implication Nobody knows )

rhetorical question

1. A question posed without expectation of an answer but merely as a way of making a point: “You don't expect me to go along with that crazy scheme, do you?”

Word History and Origins

Origin of rhetorical question¹

First recorded in 1835–45

Idioms and Phrases

A question asked without expecting an answer but for the sake of emphasis or effect. The expected answer is usually “yes” or “no.” For example, Can we improve the quality of our work? That's a rhetorical question . [Late 1800s]

Example Sentences

It was a rhetorical question designed to impress on them his urgency and his demand that part of their job would be walking the streets with him.

From Los Angeles Times

It’s not a rhetorical question, but one with an answer: when that judge is someone he picked himself.

From Salon

Sitting in the university’s performing-arts library, he traced the arcs of the notes with his fingers, posing rhetorical questions in his deep, faintly drawly voice: “What kind of emotion did the composer want?”

From New York Times

"I was asking that as a clearly rhetorical question rather than a substantive question, as I think any fair-minded listener would conclude."

From BBC

He says he was "struggling to hear the question" and adds that he was asking a "rhetorical question" when he spoke to the person in the audience.

From BBC

Related Words

• comment
• explanation
• feedback
• interpretation
• justification
• key
• observation
• rebuttal
• remark
• report
• resolution
• response
• result
• return
• sign
• solution
• statement