erotesis means A figure of speech whereby a question is asked in confident expectation of a negative answer. Lexicurio rates it Sui generis — a strength score of 87 out of 100.
erotesis is pronounced /ɛɹəˈtiːsɪs/.
Why “erotesis” is a great word
EROTESIS — [Noun] A rhetorical figure in which a question is asked not to elicit information but in confident expectation of a negative answer, thereby emphasizing a point. From Late Latin erotesis, from Ancient Greek ἐρώτησις (erṓtēsis, "questioning"), from ἐρωτάω (erōtáō, "I ask, question"). Unlike hypophora, where the speaker immediately supplies an answer to guide reasoning, or eperotesis, a vehement, repeated questioning born of indignation, erotesis is a poised, almost forensic device, its power lying in the silence of the implied reply. It is the lawyer's "Is there any doubt?" hanging in the hushed courtroom, the parent's weary "Do I look like I was born yesterday?" deflecting a transparent excuse, and the poet's quiet "Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?"—a declaration framed by the shared certainty of its answer, turning the audience into the sole witness of an unspoken truth.
Etymology
From Late Latin erotesis, from Ancient Greek ἐρώτησις (erṓtēsis), from ἐρωτάω (erōtáō, “I question”).
noun
- A figure of speech whereby a question is asked in confident expectation of a negative answer.“he would ſometimes break off in a ſudden and ſpirited Epiphonema, or rather Erotesis […] and demand it categorically of his antagoniſt, Whether he would take upon him to ſay, he had ever remember'd,—whether he had ever read,–or even whether he had ever heard tell of a man, call'd Tristram, performing any thing great or worth recording?–No–, he would ſay,–Tristram!–The thing is impoſſible.”