asyndeton

[ uh-sin-di-ton, -tuhn ]

See synonyms for asyndeton on Thesaurus.com

noun

Rhetoric. the omission of conjunctions, as in “He has provided people with jobs, with opportunity, with self-respect.”
Library Science. the omission of cross references, especially from a catalog.

Origin of asyndeton

First recorded in 1580–90; from Late Latin, from Greek, noun use of neuter of asýndetos “unlinked, loose” (equivalent to a- a-⁶ + syndé(ein) “to tie together, bind” + -tos verbal adjective suffix)

Other words from asyndeton

as·yn·det·ic [as-in-det-ik], /ˈæs ɪnˈdɛt ɪk/, adjective
as·yn·det·i·cal·ly, adverb

Words Nearby asyndeton

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use asyndeton in a sentence

And this is what Homer has expressed by using the figure asyndeton.
On the Sublime | Longinus
Therefore the figure asyndeton, whereby conjunctions are omitted, is highly commended by writers of rhetoric.
Essays and Miscellanies | Plutarch
But the asyndeton resulting from the suppression of these words was felt to be intolerable.
The Causes of the Corruption of the Traditional Text of the Holy Gospels | John Burgon
But the asyndeton (so characteristic of the fourth Gospel) proving uncongenial to certain of old time, D inserted και.
The Causes of the Corruption of the Traditional Text of the Holy Gospels | John Burgon
Of this sort is asyndeton when the conjunctions uniting sentences are removed.
Essays and Miscellanies | Plutarch

British Dictionary definitions for asyndeton

asyndeton

/ (æˈsɪndɪtən) /

nounplural -deta (-dɪtə)

the omission of a conjunction between the parts of a sentence
an asyndetic construction: Compare syndeton

Origin of asyndeton

C16: from New Latin, from Greek asundeton, from asundetos unconnected, from a- 1 + sundein to bind together

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

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