Rhetorical vs Literal - What's the difference?
rhetorical | literal |
Part of or similar to rhetoric, which is the use of language as a means to persuade.
Not earnest, or presented only for the purpose of an argument
Exactly as stated; read or understood without additional interpretation; according to the letter or verbal expression; real; not figurative or metaphorical.
* Hooker
Following the letter or exact words; not free; not taking liberties.
(uncommon) Consisting of, or expressed by, letters.
* Johnson
(of a person) Giving a strict or literal construction; unimaginative; matter-of-fact.
(programming) A value, as opposed to an identifier, written into the source code of a computer program.
(logic) A propositional variable or the negation of a propositional variable.[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Resolution_%28logic%29]
As adjectives the difference between rhetorical and literal
is that rhetorical is part of or similar to rhetoric, which is the use of language as a means to persuade while literal is exactly as stated; read or understood without additional interpretation; according to the letter or verbal expression; real; not figurative or metaphorical.As a noun literal is
(programming) a value, as opposed to an identifier, written into the source code of a computer program.rhetorical
English
Adjective
(-)- A rhetorical question , for example, is one used merely to make a point, with no response expected.
literal
Alternative forms
* litteral (obsolete)Adjective
(en adjective)- The literal translation is “hands full of bananas” but it means empty-handed.
- a middle course between the rigour of literal translation and the liberty of paraphrasts
- A literal reading of the law would prohibit it, but that is clearly not the intent.
- a literal equation
- The literal notation of numbers was known to Europeans before the ciphers.