Pleonasm | Definition, Meaning & Examples
Pleonasm is when you use more words than necessary to express your point. Pleonasms are sometimes considered a stylistic error because they add superfluous and often redundant words. However, pleonasms can be used as a literary device to bring attention to specific ideas or create rhythm.
“I’ll love you forever and always.” (“Forever” and “always” mean the same thing)
Pleonasm definition
Pleonasm is using superfluous, redundant, or unnecessary words to communicate a message. The word “pleonasm” originates from the Greek word “pleonazō,” which means “to be excessive.”
Using excessive words tends to create a redundant message and often happens unintentionally, which is why many consider it a linguistic error or quirk. You can tell a literary work is pleonastic when you can remove extra words from a sentence without significantly changing the meaning.
In everyday language, however, pleonasm often goes unnoticed. For example, saying “I saw it with my own eyes” is a pleonasm because saying “own” after “my” is unnecessary. While redundant, it is used in this context to emphasize personal observation.
“It’s a new innovation.” (“Innovation” is redundant because all innovations are new)
Pleonasm types
There are two main types of pleonasm: syntactic pleonasm and semantic pleonasm.
Syntactic pleonasm
Syntactic pleonasm is when unnecessary words or phrases are added to a sentence, even though they don’t add meaning to a sentence. In other words, if you were to remove the extra words, the sentence would still retain the same meaning.
“The reason why is because inflation is so bad” (“The reason why” and “is because” both imply the same thing)
Semantic pleonasm
Semantic pleonasm is repeating the same idea or concept, leading to redundancy in phrasing and meaning. These redundancies are sometimes used to clarify or emphasize a point, but they are more often used unintentionally in everyday language.
- Overlap is when two words with overlapping meanings are used together, making one redundant (e.g., exact replica or frozen ice).
- Prolixity is the unnecessary use of extra words or elaborate phrasing that only leads to redundancy in meaning (e.g., we need to plan ahead for the future).
Pleonasm examples
Pleonastic phrases are quite common, and we use them in everyday language, sometimes without realizing it.
| Pleonasm | Explanation |
|---|---|
| final conclusion | Conclusions are final, so “final” is redundant. |
| empty void | Voids are empty by definition, making “empty” unnecessary. |
| forever and always | Both words mean the same thing but are used together for emphasis. |
| free gift | A gift is inherently free, so “free” is redundant. |
| past history | By definition, history is in the past, so saying “past” doesn’t add anything. |
Frequently asked questions about pleonasm
- What is the difference between pleonasm and tautology?
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Both pleonasm and tautology are rhetorical devices involving redundant language, but they are distinctly different.
- Pleonasm involves using extra words that don’t add to the message to describe something already implied (e.g., exact same).
- Tautology involves repeating the same message with different words (e.g., repeat that again).
Scribbr’s free Paraphrasing Tool can help make your writing clearer and more concise.
- What does “pleonastic” mean?
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Pleonastic is the adjective form of the noun pleonasm. It’s used to describe writing that uses more words than necessary to communicate a message, often creating redundancy (e.g., true fact or mutual cooperation).
Scribbr’s free Paraphrasing Tool can help make your writing clearer and more concise.
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Cove, R. (2024, December 04). Pleonasm | Definition, Meaning & Examples. Scribbr. Retrieved January 20, 2025, from https://www.scribbr.com/rhetoric/pleonasm/
