proslepsis means the pretence of passing over a subject while at the same time describing it fully. It carries an Arena rating of 1640, earned across 19 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, proslepsis ranks #415 of 17,138 for Most Incisive Words, #666 of 17,151 for The Improbable, #2,708 of 17,104 for Most Storied Words, #3,457 of 17,163 for Funniest Words.
Why “proslepsis” is a great word
A rhetorical figure in which the speaker, while pretending to omit a subject, proceeds to describe it in exhaustive and vivid detail. From the Ancient Greek πρόσληψις (próslēpsis), from προσλαμβάνω (proslambánō, 'to take in addition'). Unlike apophasis, which denies an intention to speak of something, or the broader paralipsis, which mentions by claiming to pass over, proslepsis is the extreme sport of the form, a performance of exhaustive omission. It is the lawyer who declares he will not recount the grisly crime, then paints its every crimson particular; the politician who insists he will not stoop to discuss scandals, before cataloging each one with theatrical regret; the lover who says the past is forgotten while recounting each slight with photographic precision. It is a lavish funeral for the very thing being pretended to bury.
Etymology
From the Ancient Greek πρόσληψις (próslēpsis).
noun
- The pretence of passing over a subject while at the same time describing it fully.
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
Words closest in meaning
By meaning, not spelling — each word's AI semantic fingerprint, nearest first.
- paralipsis 73% match — A figure of speech in which one pretends to ignore or omit something by actually mentioning it. vs proslepsis →
- procatalepsis 63% match — A rhetorical exercise in which the speaker raises an objection to his own argument and then immediately answers it, in an attempt to strengthen the argument by dealing with possible counter-arguments. vs proslepsis →
- prolepsis 62% match — The assignment of something to a period of time that precedes it. vs proslepsis →
- apophasis 61% match — An allusion to something by denying that it will be mentioned. vs proslepsis →
- proparalepsis 60% match — A form of paragoge; the addition of an extra sound at the end of a word. vs proslepsis →
- prosiopetic 58% match — Of the nature of prosiopesis; compare aposiopetic. vs proslepsis →
- parusia 58% match — A figure of speech by which the present tense is used instead of the past or the future, as in the animated narration of past events or the prediction of future ones. vs proslepsis →
- prosleptic 58% match — Being or involving a particular kind of proposition in a syllogism. (See Wikipedia article.) vs proslepsis →