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aposiopesis

[ ap-uh-sahy-uh-pee-sis ]
/ ˌæp əˌsaɪ əˈpi sɪs /
SEE SYNONYMS FOR aposiopesis ON THESAURUS.COM

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.

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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

OTHER WORDS FROM aposiopesis

ap·o·si·o·pet·ic [ap-uh-sahy-uh-pet-ik], /ˌæp əˌsaɪ əˈpɛt ɪk/, adjective

Words nearby aposiopesis

aporepressor, aporia, aport, aposematic, aposematic coloration, aposiopesis, apospory, apostasy, apostate, apostatize, apostaxis
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Words related to aposiopesis

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

Example sentences 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 of aposiopesis

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