apophasis · noun — an allusion to something by denying that it will be mentioned. It carries an Arena rating of 1389, earned across 3 head-to-head judged battles.
Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, apophasis ranks #418 of 17,176 for Most Incisive Words, #1,494 of 17,205 for The Improbable, #1,716 of 17,207 for Most Betrayed by Its Sound, #2,796 of 17,146 for Most Storied Words.
apophasis is pronounced /əˈpɒf.ə.sɪs/.
Why “apophasis” is a great word
A rhetorical device in which a speaker or writer introduces a subject by denying that it will be mentioned, thereby drawing attention to it. Via Late Latin apophasis from Ancient Greek ἀπόφασις (apóphasis, “denial, negation”), from ἀπο- (apo-, “away, from, off”) + φάσις (phásis, “statement, proposition”) from φημί (phēmí, “to speak”). First attested in English c. 1650s. Unlike paralipsis, which emphasizes a pointed, dismissive omission, or aporia, which voices genuine uncertainty, apophasis is the broader art of feigned omission—the politician who declares “I will not discuss my opponent’s scandal,” the memoir that opens “Some things are better left unsaid—though not this,” the lover who whispers “I promised myself I wouldn’t bring up last spring.” It is the shadow cast by a professed absence, a presence conjured through denial, language’s most cunning way to wound by pretending to withhold the blow.
❧ Essay by Lexicurio’s AI · definition, etymology & citations from published sources
Etymology
Via Late Latin apophasis from Ancient Greek ἀπόφασις (apóphasis, “denial, negation”) from ἀπο- (apo-, “away, from, off”) + φάσις (phásis, “statement, proposition”) from φημί (phēmí, “to speak”) from Proto-Hellenic *pʰā́mā from Proto-Indo-European *bʰeh₂; whence Latin fārī, cognate to fame, fable.
noun
- An allusion to something by denying that it will be mentioned.e.g.“Apophasis, affecting to conceal;
What it would seem to hide, will yet reveal.” — 1835, L[arret] Langley, “[Rhetorical Figures.] Apophasis.”, in A Manual of the Figures of Rhetoric, […], Doncaster, South Yorkshire: […] C. White, […], →OCLC, page 63:
- A process of arriving at knowledge by statements of denial; particularly, developing a concept of God through negative assertions about his nature.
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
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