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perlocution

British  
/ ˌpɜːlɒˈkjuːʃən /

noun

  1. Also called: perlocutionary act.  philosophy the effect that someone has by uttering certain words, such as frightening a person Compare illocution

"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

Other Word Forms

  • perlocutionary adjective

Etymology

Origin of perlocution

C16 (in the obsolete sense: the action of speaking): from Medieval or New Latin perlocūtiō; see per- , locution

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.