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Previous Thread Next Thread Print Thread unnecessary adjectives #169204 07/14/2007 8:32 AM Joined: Jul 2007 Posts: 1 GeorgiasGrandad stranger GeorgiasGrandad stranger Joined: Jul 2007 Posts: 1 Is there a word for unnecessary adjectives, as in 'a round circle'? My local paper's latest one is 'underwater divers' or am I being pedantic? Copy Link to Clipboard Share Post on Facebook Share Post on Twitter Re: unnecessary adjectives GeorgiasGrandad #169205 07/14/2007 11:40 AM Joined: Aug 2006 Posts: 631 Hydra addict Hydra addict Joined: Aug 2006 Posts: 631 It's deja vu all over again! The word for this is the term: pleonasm noun. the use of more words than are necessary to convey meaning (e.g., see with one's eyes), either as a fault of style or for emphasis. Alternatively, you might use a different word, such as, for example, tautology noun ( pl. -gies) the saying of the same thing twice in different words, generally considered to be a fault of style (e.g., they arrived one after the other in succession). [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tautology_%28rhetoric%29 ]Tautology[/url] Pleonasm Note: The unfavourable general consensus about Wikipedia is that it's not very good. Last edited by Hydra; 07/14/2007 11:48 AM. Copy Link to Clipboard Share Post on Facebook Share Post on Twitter Re: unnecessary adjectives GeorgiasGrandad #169207 07/14/2007 12:54 PM Joined: Dec 2000 Posts: 13,803 Faldage Carpal Tunnel Faldage Carpal Tunnel Joined: Dec 2000 Posts: 13,803 Originally Posted By: GeorgiasGrandad Is there a word for unnecessary adjectives, as in 'a round circle'? My local paper's latest one is 'underwater divers' or am I being pedantic? I would say that in the case of "underwater divers", yes, you are being pedantic. You would not include olympic divers or sky divers in the category of underwater divers, or at least I would not. But to answer your question they commented on it in the context of "pilotless drones" (IIRC) over at Language Log some time ago, but I don't have time right now to track it down. You might look around there. Copy Link to Clipboard Share Post on Facebook Share Post on Twitter Re: unnecessary adjectives Faldage #169218 07/14/2007 10:01 PM Joined: Dec 2000 Posts: 13,803 Faldage Carpal Tunnel Faldage Carpal Tunnel Joined: Dec 2000 Posts: 13,803 Google is our friend. I googled language-log pilotless-drone and got this page. The term they use for this sort of thing is appositive modification. They have what I believe is a pretty good argument for its not being necessarily an evil, ignorant, stupid practice. The other form of modification is intersective modification. Copy Link to Clipboard Share Post on Facebook Share Post on Twitter Re: unnecessary adjectives GeorgiasGrandad #169277 07/17/2007 8:10 PM Joined: Aug 2002 Posts: 2,154 British Columbia, Canada Zed Pooh-Bah Zed Pooh-Bah Joined: Aug 2002 Posts: 2,154 British Columbia, Canada Welcome aboard Grandad I don't mind when it is done for emphasis to but it becomes irritating when it is done needlessly for no reason. Copy Link to Clipboard Share Post on Facebook Share Post on Twitter Moderated by  Jackie  Hop To General Topics ------  Information and announcements  Q&A about words  Wordplay and fun  Words and languages in schools  Miscellany  Weekly Themes  Looking for (writers, speakers,... (Old) Weekly themes. (have been... ------  Words from medicine  Beheading words  Meta-words  Words from classical mythology  Animal Safari  Words with unusual etymologies  Eponyms or words derived from p...  Loanwords from German  English as a global language Print Thread Switch to Threaded Mode Show Likes Link Copied to Clipboard View Profile Private Message Follow User Forum Posts Like Summary View Profile Private Message Follow User Forum Posts Like Summary View Profile Private Message Website Follow User Forum Posts Like Summary View Profile Private Message Website Follow User Forum Posts Like Summary View Profile Private Message Follow User Forum Posts Like Summary

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