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Webster 1913 Edition
Aposiopesis
‖
Apˊo-siˊo-pe′sis
(?; 277)
, Noun.
[L., fr. Gr. [GREEK], from [GREEK] 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
, hereDefinition 2024
aposiopesis
aposiopesis
English
Noun
aposiopesis (plural aposiopeses)
- (rhetoric) An abrupt breaking-off in speech, often indicated in print using an ellipsis (…) or an em dash (—).
- 1759, Laurence Sterne, The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman, [York: Printed by Ann Ward], OCLC 877209274; republished volume I, Basil [Basel]: Printed for J. L. Legrand, 1792, OCLC 165700981, page 123:
- “My ſiſter, mayhap,” quoth my uncle Toby, “does not chuſe to let a man come so near her ****.” Make this daſh,—’tis an Apoſiopeſis.—Take the daſh away, and write Backſide,—’tis Bawdy.
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1911, Max Beerbohm, Zuleika Dobson:
- “If you are not—” The aposiopesis was icy.
- 1938, Samuel Beckett, Murphy, London: George Routledge & Sons, OCLC 939632162; republished New York, N.Y.: Grove Press, 1957, OCLC 855435111, page 164:
- “Have fire in this garret before night or—” / He stopped because he could not go on. It was an aposiopesis of the purest kind.
- 1982, John Fowles, Mantissa, London: Jonathan Cape, ISBN 978-0-224-02938-4:
- This somewhat abrupt ending (or aposiopesis) is caused by a previous movement from the figure on the bed.
- 1759, Laurence Sterne, The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman, [York: Printed by Ann Ward], OCLC 877209274; republished volume I, Basil [Basel]: Printed for J. L. Legrand, 1792, OCLC 165700981, page 123:
Hypernyms
Translations
abrupt breaking-off in speech
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