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aposiopesis - 4 dictionary results

ap⋅o⋅si⋅o⋅pe⋅sis

  [ap-uh-sahy-uh-pee-sis]
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–noun, plural -ses  [-seez] . Rhetoric.
a sudden breaking off in the midst of a sentence, as if from inability or unwillingness to proceed.
Origin:
1570–80; < LL < Gk: lit., a full silence, equiv. to aposiōpē- (verbid s. of aposiōpáein to be fully silent; apo- apo- + siōpáein to be silent) + -sis -sis

Related forms:
ap⋅o⋅si⋅o⋅pet⋅ic  [ap-uh-sahy-uh-pet-ik] , adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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ap·o·si·o·pe·sis   (āp'ə-sī'ə-pē'sĭs)   
n.   pl. ap·o·si·o·pe·ses (-sēz)
A sudden breaking off of a thought in the middle of a sentence, as though the speaker were unwilling or unable to continue.

[Late Latin aposiōpēsis, from Greek, from aposiōpān, to become silent : apo-, intensive pref.; see apo- + siōpān, to be silent (from siōpē, silence).]
ap'o·si'o·pet'ic (-pět'ĭk) adj.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Aposiopesis

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."
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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aposiopesis

(Greek: "becoming silent"), a speaker's deliberate failure to complete a sentence. Aposiopesis usually indicates speechless rage or exasperation, as in "Why, you . . .," and sometimes implies vague threats as in, "Why, I'll . . . ." The listener is expected to complete the sentence in his mind. In ancient Greek rhetoric, the aposiopesis occasionally takes the form of a pause before a change of subject or a digression.

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Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
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