antiphrasis

[ an-tif-ruh-sis ]

/ ænˈtɪf rə sɪs /

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noun Rhetoric.

the use of a word in a sense opposite to its proper meaning.

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IS and ARE are both forms of which verb?

have

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Origin of antiphrasis

1525–35; <Latin <Greek, derivative of antiphrázein to speak the opposite (anti-anti- + phrázein to speak); see phrase, sis

OTHER WORDS FROM antiphrasis

an·ti·phras·tic

[an-ti-fras-tik], /ˌæn tɪˈfræs tɪk/, an·ti·phras·ti·cal, adjectivean·ti·phras·ti·cal·ly, adverb

Words nearby antiphrasis

antiphlogistic, antiphon, antiphonal, antiphonary, antiphony, antiphrasis, Antiphus, anti-pill, antiplasmin, antiplastic, antiplatelet

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use antiphrasis in a sentence

The friend who presented me with him had given him, perhaps by antiphrasis, the startling name of Pelléas.
Our Friend the Dog|Maurice Maeterlinck
Instances of antiphrasis in the names given to black slaves are very common.
The Thousand and One Nights, Vol. I.|Anonymous

British Dictionary definitions for antiphrasis

antiphrasis

/ (ænˈtɪfrəsɪs) /

noun

rhetoric the use of a word in a sense opposite to its normal one, esp for ironic effect

Word Origin for antiphrasis

C16: via Late Latin from Greek, from anti- + phrasis, from phrazein to speak

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012