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antiphrasis

[ an-tif-ruh-sis ]
/ ænˈtɪf rə sɪs /
|

noun Rhetoric.

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

Nearby words

  1. antiphon,
  2. antiphonal,
  3. antiphonary,
  4. antiphonic,
  5. antiphony,
  6. antiphus,
  7. antiplasmin,
  8. antiplastic,
  9. antipodal,
  10. antipode

Origin of antiphrasis

1525–35; < Latin < Greek, derivative of antiphrázein to speak the opposite (anti- anti- + phrázein to speak); see phrase, sis
Related formsan·ti·phras·tic [an-ti-fras-tik] /ˌæn tɪˈfræs tɪk/, an·ti·phras·ti·cal, adjectivean·ti·phras·ti·cal·ly, adverb
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for antiphrasis

  • The friend who presented me with him had given him, perhaps by antiphrasis, the startling name of Pelléas.

    Our Friend the Dog|Maurice Maeterlinck
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
Word Origin and History for antiphrasis

antiphrasis

n.

1530s, from Latin antiphrasis, from Greek antiphrasis, from antiphrazein "to express (something) by the opposite," from anti- (see anti-) + phrazein "to consider, to express" (see phrase (n.)).

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper