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tautology
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Tautology
Repetition of the same thing in different words. For example, it is tautologous to say that something is most unique, since unique means that there is only one of its kind and so something cannot be described as ‘more’ or ‘most’ unique; something is either unique or not. Other examples are a new innovation (an innovation is always new); a free gift (all gifts are freely given); a dead corpse (all corpses are by definition dead).
Repetition for effect, however, is not tautologous. It is reasonable to say: ‘There must be no noise; everyone must be silent’. Most expressions of tautology arise from careless use of words. For example, it is tautologous to write: ‘In this essay I am going to write about ...’
© RM 2009. Helicon Publishing is division of RM.
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deus ex machina
active voice
adjectival clause
adjectival phrase
adjective
adverb
adverbial clause
adverbial phrase
affix
agreement
alliteration
ambiguity
anachronism
analogy
anecdote
antecedent (grammar)
anthropomorphism
anticlimax
antithesis
antonym
apposition
article (grammar)
aspect
assonance
auxiliary verb
bathos
black humour
clause
climax
comic relief
complement (language)
complex sentence
conceit
conditional clause
conjugation
conjunction (language)
connective
connotation
continuous tense
couplet
declarative sentence
demonstrative
determiner
device
diminutive
direct object
direct speech
double entendre
double negative
emotive language
euphemism
exclamative sentence
figure of speech
finite (grammar)
future in the past
future tense
grammar
grammatical boundary
grotesque (literature)
half-rhyme
hyperbole
imagery
imperative
indirect object
indirect speech
inflection (grammar)
interrogative
intransitive verb
irony
irregular verb
lampoon
literary criticism
major sentence
metaphor
metonymy
minor sentence
modal verb
mood (grammar)
non-finite verb
noun
noun clause
noun phrase
number (language)
object (grammar)
onomatopoeia
oxymoron
parody
parsing
part of speech
participle
passive voice
past participle
past tense
pastiche
perfect tense
person
personification
phrasal verb
phrase (language)
phrase-structure grammar
plural
predicate
prefix
preposition
prepositional phrase
present participle
present tense
pronoun
pun
regular verb
rhetoric
rhyme
rhythm (poetry)
satire
sentence (grammar)
sentence analysis
sentence structure
simile (language)
simple tense
strong verb
subject (grammar)
subordinate clause
symbol (general)
synecdoche
synonymy
syntax
synthesis (literature)
tautology
tense
transitive verb
verb
verb phrase
voice (grammar)
weak verb
zeugma
active voice
adjectival clause
adjectival phrase
adjective
adverb
adverbial clause
adverbial phrase
affix
agreement
alliteration
ambiguity
anachronism
analogy
anecdote
antecedent (grammar)
anthropomorphism
anticlimax
antithesis
antonym
apposition
article (grammar)
aspect
assonance
auxiliary verb
bathos
black humour
clause
climax
comic relief
complement (language)
complex sentence
conceit
conditional clause
conjugation
conjunction (language)
connective
connotation
continuous tense
couplet
declarative sentence
demonstrative
determiner
device
diminutive
direct object
direct speech
double entendre
double negative
emotive language
euphemism
exclamative sentence
figure of speech
finite (grammar)
future in the past
future tense
grammar
grammatical boundary
grotesque (literature)
half-rhyme
hyperbole
imagery
imperative
indirect object
indirect speech
inflection (grammar)
interrogative
intransitive verb
irony
irregular verb
lampoon
literary criticism
major sentence
metaphor
metonymy
minor sentence
modal verb
mood (grammar)
non-finite verb
noun
noun clause
noun phrase
number (language)
object (grammar)
onomatopoeia
oxymoron
parody
parsing
part of speech
participle
passive voice
past participle
past tense
pastiche
perfect tense
person
personification
phrasal verb
phrase (language)
phrase-structure grammar
plural
predicate
prefix
preposition
prepositional phrase
present participle
present tense
pronoun
pun
regular verb
rhetoric
rhyme
rhythm (poetry)
satire
sentence (grammar)
sentence analysis
sentence structure
simile (language)
simple tense
strong verb
subject (grammar)
subordinate clause
symbol (general)
synecdoche
synonymy
syntax
synthesis (literature)
tautology
tense
transitive verb
verb
verb phrase
voice (grammar)
weak verb
zeugma
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