erotema
- noun
- /ɪˈroʊtɪmə/
- Literature
:
erotema
- One of the best-known figures, erotema, the "rhetorical question," is in regular use: "What am I, chopped liver?"
Examples
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At any rate, the narrator's use of erotema would seem to be a frantic rhetorical attempt to encourage acceptance in his audience of the theory of perversity.
Academic text (1997) -
Starbuck's dramatic soliloquy illustrates three of the four types of rhetorical questions (ratiocinatio, hypophora, erotema) and their functions.
Academic text (1997) -
Erotesis (erotema): a rhetorical question implying strong affirmation or denial.
Academic text (1997) -
The author used erotema effectively in her speech to provoke thought, asking, "How many times must we learn this lesson?"
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In his witty commentary, he employed erotema by asking, "Isn't it obvious that we need change?"
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The politician's use of erotema in his debate challenge made his point clear: "Who wouldn't want a better future?"
Synonyms
22
4.6
A question people ask to make a point, not to get an answer
Surface Forms
Etymology
Erotema comes from a Greek word erotema meaning 'question', from the verb erotao 'to ask'. So an erotema is a question asked for effect to make people think rather than to get an answer.