trope
Rhetoric.
any literary or rhetorical device, as metaphor, metonymy, synecdoche, and irony, that consists in the use of words in other than their literal sense.
an instance of this.: Compare figure of speech.
a phrase, sentence, or verse formerly interpolated in a liturgical text to amplify or embellish.
a recurring theme or motif, as in literature or art:the trope of motherhood;the heroic trope.
a convention or device that establishes a predictable or stereotypical representation of a character, setting, or scenario in a creative work:From her introduction in the movie, the character is nothing but a Damsel in Distress trope.The author relies on our knowledge of the Haunted House trope to set the scene.
(in the philosophy of Santayana) the principle of organization according to which matter moves to form an object during the various stages of its existence.
Origin of trope
1Other definitions for -trope (2 of 2)
a combining form meaning “one turned toward” that specified by the initial element (heliotrope); also occurring in concrete nouns that correspond to abstract nouns ending in -tropy or -tropism: allotrope.
Origin of -trope
2Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use trope in a sentence
Northanger Abbey, after all, parodies the tropes and excesses of sentimental Gothic novels.
The media often portray Muslims using tropes that don't represent the incredible diversity of the Islamic community.
Defying Stereotypes, Young Muslim Writers Find Community Onstage | Julianne Chiaet | October 12, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTBut as with any show that was created in the 1940s, some of its tropes could be deemed politically incorrect or offensive today.
But Happy Valley has a unique take on violence against women, playing with the well-known tropes to create something entirely new.
The Feminist Aesthetic of ‘Happy Valley’: A Refusal to Eroticize Violence Against Women | Batya Ungar-Sargon | August 31, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTIt takes these tropes that we, as a culture, seem to love and spins them on their heads.
'SNL' Star Kate McKinnon's Big, 'Awesome,' Emmy-Nominated Year | Kevin Fallon | August 19, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
In our day we consider as figures of speech only the classical tropes, and indeed Aristotle pays little attention to the others.
Rhetoric and Poetry in the Renaissance | Donald Lemen ClarkQuintilian classifies as tropes words or phrases converted from their proper signification to another.
Rhetoric and Poetry in the Renaissance | Donald Lemen ClarkTropes and Fictions are raised, as it were, upon the Foundation of right Reason.
Lectures on Poetry | Joseph TrappThe common sense of our tropes, rodomontades, and allegories is this!
Husks | Marion HarlandIt is nothing more than a highly organized dictionary of ancient, medieval, and Renaissance schemes and tropes.
A Treatise of Schemes and Tropes | Richard Sherry
British Dictionary definitions for trope (1 of 2)
/ (trəʊp) /
rhetoric a word or expression used in a figurative sense
an interpolation of words or music into the plainsong settings of the Roman Catholic liturgy
Origin of trope
1British Dictionary definitions for -trope (2 of 2)
indicating a turning towards, development in the direction of, or affinity to: heliotrope
Origin of -trope
2Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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