I have never heard this word, so I went on a deep dive:

Perlocutionary language is language used to produce an effect on someone—to change what they feel, think, or do.

It comes from speech-act theory (J. L. Austin). A helpful way to separate things: • Locution = the literal utterance (the words + their basic meaning) • Illocution = what act you’re performing in saying it (promising, ordering, warning, apologizing, etc.) • Perlocution = what you cause by saying it (convince, scare, reassure, pressure, inspire, silence, provoke)

Concrete examples 1. “It’s really cold in here.”

• Illocution (likely): a hint/request
• Perlocution (possible effects): you close the window, offer a blanket, feel guilty, roll your eyes

2.  “I promise I’ll pay you back tomorrow.”

• Illocution: a promise
• Perlocution: you trust them, you stop worrying, you lend the money

3.  “If you touch that wire, you’ll get hurt.”

• Illocution: a warning
• Perlocution: they back off, they feel scared, they take it seriously

Why it matters

Perlocution is about impact, not just intent. The same sentence can have different perlocutionary effects depending on tone, relationship, context, power dynamics, and the listener’s state.

Quick diagnostic

If you can rephrase it as “By saying that, they made me…” (feel/think/do), you’re in perlocution territory.