apophasis

a·poph·a·sis

 (ə-pŏf′ə-sĭs)

n.

Allusion to something by denying that it will be mentioned, as in I will not bring up my opponent's questionable financial dealings.

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[Late Latin, from Greek, from apophanai, to say no : apo-, apo- + phanai, to say; see bhā- in Indo-European roots.]

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

apophasis

(əˈpɒfəsɪs)

n

(Rhetoric) rhetoric the device of mentioning a subject by stating that it will not be mentioned: I shall not discuss his cowardice or his treachery.

[C17: via Latin from Greek: denial, from apo- + phanai to say]

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

apophasis

- Mentioning a subject by saying one is not going to mention it.

See also related terms for mention.

Farlex Trivia Dictionary. © 2012 Farlex, Inc. All rights reserved.

apophasis

a spoken or written figure in which an assertion is made in the midst of a denial, as in Mark Antony’s funeral speech for Caesar. Also called paralipsis. — apophasic, adj.

See also: Rhetoric and Rhetorical Devices

-Ologies & -Isms. Copyright 2008 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.

apophasis

The deliberate mentioning of a subject by saying that it will not be mentioned.

Dictionary of Unfamiliar Words by Diagram Group Copyright © 2008 by Diagram Visual Information Limited

Thesaurus

Noun

1.

apophasis - mentioning something by saying it will not be mentioned rhetorical device - a use of language that creates a literary effect (but often without regard for literal significance)

Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.