Is it redundant to use "billowing winds" and "petulant waves" in the same sentence? [closed]
Closed by System on Jan 28, 2019 at 20:36
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"The ship sailed through the billowing winds and the petulant waves."
Is it redundant? Because, if I say billowing, the reader would probably think petulant waves is too redundant. What do you think?
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1 answer
No.
Winds are not waves. You can describe each of them if you wish.
Billowing and petulant have nothing whatsoever to do with each other.
- Billowing means "filled with air and swelling outward."
- Petulant means "childishly sulky or bad-tempered."
The first is a description of the physicality of the subject. The second is an emotional description. Actions by a thinking being.
To be redundant, the two phrases would have to be saying more or less the same thing.
Depending on the rest of the work, the two phrases might be too cluttered or overdone, but they would not be redundant.
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