definitions

aposiopesis

[ ap-uh-sahy-uh-pee-sis ]
/ ˌæp əˌsaɪ əˈpi sɪs /
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noun, plural ap·o·si·o·pe·ses [ap-uh-sahy-uh-pee-seez] /ˌæp əˌsaɪ əˈpi siz/. Rhetoric.

a sudden breaking off in the midst of a sentence, as if from inability or unwillingness to proceed.

RELATED WORDS

allegory, allusion, analogy, anticlimax, antithesis, bathos, comparison, conceit, device, euphemism, euphuism, exaggeration, expression, flourish, flower, hyperbole, image, imagery, irony, metaphor

Nearby words

aporepressor, aporia, aport, aposematic, aposematic coloration, aposiopesis, apospory, apostasy, apostate, apostatize, apostaxis

Origin of aposiopesis

1570–80; < Late Latin < Greek: literally, a full silence, equivalent to aposiōpē- (verbid stem of aposiōpáein to be fully silent; apo- apo- + siōpáein to be silent) + -sis -sis

Related forms

ap·o·si·o·pet·ic [ap-uh-sahy-uh-pet-ik] /ˌæp əˌsaɪ əˈpɛt ɪk/, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for aposiopesis

British Dictionary definitions for aposiopesis

aposiopesis

/ (ˌæpəʊˌsaɪəˈpiːsɪs) /

noun plural -ses (-siːz)

rhetoric the device of suddenly breaking off in the middle of a sentence as if unwilling to continue

Derived Forms

aposiopetic (ˌæpəʊˌsaɪəˈpɛtɪk), adjective

Word Origin for aposiopesis

C16: via Late Latin from Greek, from aposiōpaein to be totally silent, from siōpaein to be silent
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