Rhetoric
Rhetoric was meaningless figures of speech stated with an exaggerated style intended as a means to impress or persuade. Social commentary was a form of rhetoric.

William T. Riker quoted to Zephram Cochrane in 2063 that "Someone once said 'Don't try to be a great man. Just be a man, and let history make its own judgments'." Cochrane called the comments "rhetorical nonsense", before learning that he was actually the man who would say it ten years later. ()

In 2367, Leah Brahms referred to Geordi La Forge's reasons for changing the MTBF unit's swap-out schedule as that same tired rhetoric; namely, that field observation trumped design intention. ()

In 2369, Benjamin Sisko assured Vedek Winn Adami that when the "us versus them" rhetoric became old, Bajoran parents would bring their children back to Keiko O'Brien's school. ()

In 2373, the  Colonel rebuffed Q's attempts to protect Kathryn Janeway, saying "A very touching speech, Q. But as usual, your rhetoric fails to compensate for your irresponsibility." ()

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Linguistics