Pleonasm

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈpliːənæzÉ™m/

Origin

Late Latin pleonasmus, from Ancient Greek πλεονασμός, from πλεονάζω (pleonazō, "I am superfluous"), from πλείων (pleiōn, "more").

Full definition of pleonasm

Noun

1. (uncountable, rhetoric) Redundancy in wording.
• 1993, Anthony Burgess, A Dead Man in Deptford,My salvation is in my Saviour who saveth me hence the redundancy and pleonasm of my asseveration.
• Dec 14, 2007, Ryan North, Dinosaur Comics,pleonasm is the additional and extra use of added, spare, unnecessary, redundant (superfluous or surplus), unneeded, and uncalled-for words in addition to, and on top of, what is necessary or essential. Or required. Or obligatory or vital or requisite or crucial. Or needed?
2. (countable) A phrase involving pleonasm, that is, a phrase in which one or more words are redundant as their meaning is expressed elsewhere in the phrase."The two of them are both the same" is a pleonasm (as the word "both" is redundant), as is "killed dead".

Related terms

• pleonastic

Anagrams

• neoplasm, planemos