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Dictionary

Words, grammatical forms and meanings linked to the ontology.

apophasis en · NOUN

Pronunciation

  • /əˈpɒf.ə.sɪs/ (UK)
  • /əˈpɑf.ə.sɪs/ (US)

Etymology

Via Late Latin apophasis from Ancient Greek ἀπόφασις (apóphasis, “denial, negation”) from ἀπο- (apo-, “away, from, off”) + φάσις (phásis, “statement, proposition”) from φημί (phēmí, “to speak”) from Proto-Hellenic *pʰā́mā from Proto-Indo-European *bʰeh₂; whence Latin fārī, cognate to fame, fable.

Meanings

  1. (countable, rhetoric, uncountable) An allusion to something by denying that it will be mentioned.
    • Apophasis, affecting to conceal; What it would seem to hide, will yet reveal. 1835, L[arret] Langley, “[Rhetorical Figures.] Apophasis.”, in A Manual of the Figures of Rhetoric, […], Doncaster, South Yorkshire: […] C. White, […], →OCLC, page 63:
  2. (countable, uncountable) A process of arriving at knowledge by statements of denial; particularly, developing a concept of God through negative assertions about his nature.

Forms

SpellingFeaturesLabelsSource
apophases Number=Plur lexicographic

Antonyms

via affirmativa · cataphasis

Coordinates

epitrope · sarcasm · mycterism · antiphrasis · concessio

Hypernyms

irony

Relateds

apophatic · apophatically · -phasis · apo- · to say nothing of · not to mention

Synonyms

via negativa · preterition · parasiopesis · praeteritio · paralipsis · apophatic theology

Translations (13)

de Praeteritio (allusion to something by denying that it will be mentioned) · gl apófase (allusion to something by denying that it will be mentioned) · tl pakunwari (allusion to something by denying that it will be mentioned) · de Paralipse (allusion to something by denying that it will be mentioned) · pl apofaza (allusion to something by denying that it will be mentioned) · fi paralipsis (allusion to something by denying that it will be mentioned) · es preterición (allusion to something by denying that it will be mentioned) · ru апофа́зия (allusion to something by denying that it will be mentioned) · fi apofaasi (allusion to something by denying that it will be mentioned) · ia reticentia (allusion to something by denying that it will be mentioned) · cmn 陽否陰述 /阳否阴述 (allusion to something by denying that it will be mentioned) · pt apófase (allusion to something by denying that it will be mentioned) · es paralipsis (allusion to something by denying that it will be mentioned)