pleonasm
the use of more words than are needed to express an idea, sometimes for emphasis
Pleonasm in a sentence
Here is an example sentence showing pleonasm in a sentence.
The phrase 'free gift' is a pleonasm, since a gift is already free by definition.
More GRE words starting with P
to calm or soothe someone who is angry or agitated
a song or expression of joyful praise or triumph
done with careful and thorough effort
agreeable to the taste or acceptable to the mind
resembling a palace in size or grandeur
rebirth, regeneration, or renewal into a new existence
to ease the severity of something without curing it
pale or lacking vitality and color
Questions about “pleonasm”
See these words the way the GRE tests them.
Definitions in isolation do not stick. Sit a free, full-length GRE mock and meet this vocabulary inside real text completion and sentence equivalence questions, with your score and a worked solution for every answer.