ENGLISH DICTIONARY

Adynaton

Definition, Meaning & Examples

Pronunciation /ædɪˈnɑːtɒn/ · Part of speech noun

Quick meaning: Adynaton is a noun meaning (rhetoric) A form of hyperbole that uses exaggeration so magnified as to express impossibility; an instance of such hyperbole.

Meaning

(rhetoric) A form of hyperbole that uses exaggeration so magnified as to express impossibility; an instance of such hyperbole.

Example Sentences

This transcendence is very evident in adynatons which pervade Igbo folklore.
In the realm of a very exclusive art adynata of this type and others are taken up again by Arnaut Daniel, the great and distant master of Dante [Alighieri].
Stanza 12 is notable for its use of the topos of the exhausted poet whose skills and techniques are fading fast and which cannot do justice to either his beloved or his love for her. This is ironic after the elaborate adynatons.
In this little book, Dr. Sharp attempts to revive and to explain a great number of hard words which were formerly employed by teachers of rhetoric: presenting chapters intituled after the figures, Acyrologia, Adynaton, Anadiplosis, [...]

Word Forms

Related Words

Related dictionary entries include ampliatio, adiaphorization, hypotyposis, epanastrophe, adoxograph, hyperatticism.

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Sources & Attribution

FreeDictionaryAPI.com / Wiktionary · Original source · CC BY-SA 4.0

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