Pleonasm
Figures of speechRedundancy of terms expressing the same idea — an error when accidental, a figure of emphasis when chosen.
Example
Fault: "free gift." Figure: "I heard it with my own ears."
Pleonasm juxtaposes words repeating the same information: "climb up," "plan ahead," "a tiny little dwarf." Accidental, it's a clumsiness every revision pass must hunt — redundancy dilutes the sentence and adds nothing.
Deliberate, it becomes a figure of emphasis: "I saw it, he said, saw it with my own eyes" doesn't describe better, it attests — pleonasm there works as an oath. The line between fault and figure rests on one criterion: does the effect read as chosen? In doubt, the reader will assume negligence; the benefit of the doubt never goes to the author.
Put this term to work
The writing studio novelists were missing
Outline, characters, places and objects, the links between them, mind map, scene board, export: everything lives in one place. Plus an AI that knows your story, whenever you want one.
Free to write and to export. No credit card asked.