periodic sentence

American  

[peer-ee-od-ik, peer-] / ˈpɪər iˈɒd ɪk, ˌpɪər- /

noun

1. a sentence that, by leaving the completion of its main clause to the end, produces an effect of suspense, as in Unable to join the others at the dance because of my sprained ankle, I went to a movie.

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periodic sentence British  

/ ˌpɪərɪˈɒdɪk /

noun

1. rhetoric a sentence in which the completion of the main clause is left to the end, thus creating an effect of suspense

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Etymology

Origin of periodic sentence

First recorded in 1895–1900

Example Sentences

The periodic sentence is generally so massed that the end contains words of distinction, and the sentence forms a climax.

From English: Composition and Literature by Webster, W. F. (William Franklin)

A periodic sentence is doubly emphatic: it has emphasis by position because the important idea comes at the end; it has emphasis by subordination because all ideas except the last one are grammatically dependent.

From The Century Handbook of Writing by Greever, Garland

Dangling participles, trailing relatives, and straggling generalities can find no chance to hang on to a periodic sentence.

From English: Composition and Literature by Webster, W. F. (William Franklin)

Theoretically the periodic sentence is better than the loose sentence; for it economizes attention.

From English: Composition and Literature by Webster, W. F. (William Franklin)

The effectiveness of the periodic sentence arises from the prominence which it gives to the main statement.

From A Foreword to the Panama-Pacific International Exposition by James, Juliet Helena Lumbard