pleonasm means redundancy in wording. Lexicurio rates it Sui generis — a strength score of 87 out of 100.
pleonasm is pronounced /ˈpliː.əˌnæz.əm/.
Why “pleonasm” is a great word
PLEONASM — [Noun] A redundancy in linguistic expression, the use of more words than necessary to convey meaning. From Late Latin pleonasmus, from Ancient Greek πλεονασμός (pleonasmós, 'redundancy, surplus'), from πλεονάζω (pleonázō, 'to be superfluous'), from πλείων (pleíōn, 'more'). First recorded in English 1580–90. Unlike tautology, which is the logical repetition of an idea in different words, or conciseness, its direct stylistic opposite, pleonasm is the broader, often unwitting ache of linguistic surplus. It is the damp weight of an 'added bonus,' the unnecessary clasp of a 'safe haven,' and the warm breath wasted on a 'true fact'—a small, human testament to our fear that meaning alone is never quite enough.
Etymology
Learned borrowing from Late Latin pleonasmus, from Ancient Greek πλεονασμός (pleonasmós), from πλεονάζω (pleonázō, “to be superfluous”), from πλείων (pleíōn, “more”).
noun
- Redundancy in wording.“St. Jerome and St. Augustine are both sparing in the employment of the device of pleonasm.”
- A phrase involving pleonasm; a phrase containing one or more words which are redundant because their meaning is expressed elsewhere in the phrase.