| euphemism | An agreeable or inoffensive expression that is substituted for an expression that may offend the hearer or suggest something unpleasant.
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| downplayer | An expression used to play down or diminish the importance of a claim.
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| dysphemism | A word or phrase used to produce a negative effect on a reader's or listener's attitude about something or to tone down the positive associations the thing may have.
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| horse laugh | A pattern of fallacious reasoning in which ridicule is disguised as a reason for rejecting a claim.
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| hyperbole | Extravagant overstatement.
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| innuendo | An insinuation of something deprecatory.
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| loaded question | A question that rests on one or more unwarranted or unjustified assumptions.
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| proof surrogate | An expression used to suggest that there is evidence or authority for a claim without actually saying that there is.
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| rhetoric | In our usage, "rhetoric" is language used primarily to persuade or influence beliefs or attitudes rather than to prove logically.
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| rhetorical comparison | A comparison used to express or influence attitudes or affect behavior; such comparisons often make use of images with positive or negative emotional associations.
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| rhetorical definition | A definition used to convey or evoke an attitude about the defined term and its denotation; such definitions often make use of images with positive or negative emotional associations.
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| rhetorical devices | Rhetorical devices are used to influence beliefs or attitudes through the associations, connotations, and implications of words, sentences, or more extended passages. Rhetorical devices include slanters and fallacies. While rhetorical devices may be used to enhance the persuasive force of arguments, they do not add to the logical force of arguments.
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| rhetorical explanation | An explanation intended to influence attitudes or affect behavior; such explanations often make use of images with positive or negative emotional associations.
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| stereotype | An oversimplified generalization about the members of a class.
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| weaseler | An expression used to protect a claim from criticism by weakening it.
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