anastrophe

American  

[uh-nas-truh-fee] / əˈnæs trə fi /

noun

Rhetoric.

1. inversion of the usual order of words.

---

anastrophe British  

/ əˈnæstrəfɪ /

noun

1. rhetoric another term for inversion

---

Etymology

Origin of anastrophe

1570–80; < Greek: turning back. See ana-, strophe

Example Sentences

The literary term “anastrophe” refers to the technique of reversing word order in a sentence for effect.

From Los Angeles Times

Some retellings of celebrated stories enact a kind of anastrophe on a higher level, lifting one author’s plot to another author’s purpose — and in the process reversing the polarity of the story.

From Los Angeles Times