rhetoric in WordNet English dictionary

1. loud and confused and empty talk
   "mere rhetoric"
   palaver  hot air  empty words  empty talk  rhetoric 
   
2. high-flown style; excessive use of verbal ornamentation
   "the grandiosity of his prose"; "an excessive ornateness of language"
   grandiosity  magniloquence  ornateness  grandiloquence  rhetoric 
   
3. study of the technique and rules for using language effectively (especially in public speaking)
   rhetoric 
   
4. using language effectively to please or persuade
   rhetoric