Meaning & use
pleonasm
Last updated
the use of more words than necessary to express an idea, resulting in redundancy.
See it in a sentence
'Free gift' and 'true fact' are common examples of pleonasm in everyday speech.
The editor cut the pleonasms from the essay to tighten the writing.
A note on using this word
Pleonasm can be an unintentional writing flaw, but it's sometimes used deliberately for emphasis or rhythm, as in 'I saw it with my own eyes.'
Words with a similar meaning
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