Pleonasms or Tautological Redundancies

(avoid redundancies or excessive repetitiousness by not using unnecessary repetitions and superfluous words or more word usages than is needed, desired, or required)

The use of pleonasms results in a superfluity of words, sometimes deliberately, for emphasis; or the unnecessary repetitions resulting from a lack of the realization that such terms are redundant.

A tautological statement, sentence, etc. repeats its meaning in an unnecessary or excessive way by using different words to say the same thing.

* The pleonasms followed by an asterisk (*) came from an essay, "The Affluent Rich"; by Nat Boynton in his book, Media Rare. My special thanks to Mr. Jerry Gordon for contributing a copy of the essay so I could go through it and pick out the "UR's" (Unnecessary Redundancies) or pleonasms.

Please contribute any pleonasms you may come across from any of the media and let's make this list even more significant as it expands. You may send your suggestion, or suggestions, to e-mail contact or use this e-mail address: [email protected]

nocturnal-night vampires
nomenclature terms (or names)
nonreading illiterates
normal, everyday
nostalgia for the past *
not sufficient enough *
null and void
1. No longer valid.
2. Having no force, binding power, or validity.
3. Invalid, unenforceable, having no legal force or effect.
4. Without value, effect, consequence, or significance.
5. Being or amounting to nothing; nil; lacking; nonexistent.
obsolete thing of the past *
old adage
old customs
old senior citizens
only unique (person, place, or thing)
oral conversation *
original founder
original source

Also see the unit of pleio-, plio- words meaning, "more, most; excessive; multiple".