Dictionary

pleonasm en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• /ˈpliː.əˌnæz.əm/
• (Southern-England) audio

Etymology

Learned borrowing from Late Latin pleonasmus, from Ancient Greek πλεονασμός (pleonasmós), from πλεονάζω (pleonázō, “to be superfluous”), from πλείων (pleíōn, “more”).

Meanings

1. (rhetoric, uncountable) Redundancy in wording.
   • Indeed, pleonasm, the use of superfluous or redundant words, is only part of the broader features of that style, the expressions of which have been so thoroughly analyzed by Franz Neirynck² and which for convenience will here be referred to as "dualisms." 1989, Harold Riley, The Making of Mark: An Exploration, Mercer University Press, page 219:
   • My salvation is in my Saviour who saveth me hence the redundancy and pleonasm of my asseveration. 1993, Anthony Burgess, A Dead Man in Deptford:
   • St. Jerome and St. Augustine are both sparing in the employment of the device of pleonasm. 1939, John Nicholas Hritzu, The Style of the Letters of St. Jerome, Catholic University of America Press, page 5:
2. (countable) A phrase involving pleonasm; a phrase containing one or more words which are redundant because their meaning is expressed elsewhere in the phrase.

Forms

Coordinates

ellipsis

Deriveds

pleonasmic

Relateds

tautology · perissology · English pleonastic compounds · pleonastic · circumlocution · battology · auxesis · Pleonastic compounds by language

Translations (68)

eo pleonasmo (redundancy in wording) · pl pleonazm (phrase involving pleonasm) · tr doldurma (redundancy in wording) · cmn 贅字 /赘字 (phrase involving pleonasm) · hu pleonazmus (phrase involving pleonasm) · tr doldurma (phrase involving pleonasm) · hu szinonimahalmozás (redundancy in wording) · ja 冗語 (redundancy in wording) · tr pleonazm (redundancy in wording) · cmn 冗語 /冗语 (redundancy in wording) · cmn 贅詞 /赘词 (phrase involving pleonasm) · es pleonasmo (redundancy in wording) · la pleonasmos (redundancy in wording) · tr laf kalabalığı (redundancy in wording) · ca pleonasme (redundancy in wording) · tr pleonazm (phrase involving pleonasm) · id pemborosan kata (redundancy in wording) · cmn 贅字 /赘字 (redundancy in wording) · fr pléonasme (redundancy in wording) · cmn 贅語 /赘语 (phrase involving pleonasm) · ar حَشْو (redundancy in wording) · la pleonasmus (redundancy in wording) · uk плеона́зм (phrase involving pleonasm) · cmn 贅語 /赘语 (redundancy in wording) · da pleonasme (phrase involving pleonasm) · az pleonazm (redundancy in wording) · be плеана́зм (redundancy in wording) · uk плеона́зм (redundancy in wording) · cmn 冗詞 /冗词 (redundancy in wording) · kk плеоназм (redundancy in wording) · cmn 冗語 /冗语 (phrase involving pleonasm) · eo pleonasmo (phrase involving pleonasm) · ga iomarcaíocht focal (redundancy in wording) · el πλεονασμός (redundancy in wording) · fi pleonasmi (phrase involving pleonasm) · da dobbeltkonfekt (phrase involving pleonasm) · da pleonasme (redundancy in wording) · pl pleonazm (redundancy in wording) · it pleonasmo (redundancy in wording) · hu szószaporítás (redundancy in wording) · cs pleonasmus (redundancy in wording) · io pleonasmo (redundancy in wording) · hu szószaporítás (phrase involving pleonasm) · ro pleonasm (phrase involving pleonasm) · sh pleonazam (redundancy in wording) · nl pleonasme (redundancy in wording) · de Pleonasmus (redundancy in wording) · hu szinonimahalmozás (phrase involving pleonasm) · fr pléonasme (phrase involving pleonasm) · tr haşiv (phrase involving pleonasm) · tl panigib (redundancy in wording) · sh плеоназам (redundancy in wording) · cy gair llanw (redundancy in wording) · ky плеоназм (redundancy in wording) · sv pleonasm (redundancy in wording) · id pleonasme (redundancy in wording) · ar إِطْنَاب (redundancy in wording) · hu pleonazmus (redundancy in wording) · nl pleonasme (phrase involving pleonasm) · el πλεονασμός (phrase involving pleonasm) · grc πλεονασμός (redundancy in wording) · pt pleonasmo (redundancy in wording) · cmn 冗詞 /冗词 (phrase involving pleonasm) · fi pleonasmi (redundancy in wording) · tr haşiv (redundancy in wording) · sv pleonasm (phrase involving pleonasm) · cmn 贅詞 /赘词 (redundancy in wording) · ru плеона́зм (redundancy in wording)