Words / E / General

enthymeme

noun/ˈɛnθɪmiːm/

C2CEFR level
95/100Rarity: very rare
TechnicalRegister

A persuasive argument in which one premise is left unstated because it is assumed to be understood.

'He's a politician, so of course he lied' is an enthymeme resting on an unspoken generalisation.

Similar: syllogism

Topic: Persuasion & rhetoric in General English

Rarity runs from 0 (a word everyone knows) to 100 (almost never seen outside specialist or literary writing). Level is the word's real difficulty on the CEFR scale, from A1 to C2.

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More general words: Persuasion & rhetoric