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Meaning of APOSIOPESIS

Pronunciation:  `apu`sIu'peesis

WordNet Dictionary
 
 Definition: [n]  breaking off in the middle of a sentence (as by writers of realistic conversations)
 
 Websites: 
 
 See Also: rhetorical device

 

 

Webster's 1913 Dictionary
 
 Definition: 
\Ap`o*si`o*pe"sis\ (?; 277), n. [L., fr. Gr. ?, from
? to be quite silent.] (Rhet.)
A figure of speech in which the speaker breaks off suddenly,
as if unwilling or unable to state what was in his mind; as,
``I declare to you that his conduct -- but I can not speak of
that, here.''
 

 

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