Checking saved dictionary data and trusted language sources. This will stop automatically if a source does not respond.
/ˌæpəsaɪəˈpiːsɪs/ · noun
(rhetoric) An abrupt breaking-off in speech, often indicated in print using an ellipsis (…) or an em dash (—)..
“Have fire in this garret before night or—” / He stopped because he could not go on. It was an aposiopesis of the purest kind.
—"My ſiſter, mayhap," quoth my uncle Toby, "does not chooſe to let a man come ſo near her ****" Make this daſh—'tis an Apoſiopeſis.—Take the daſh away, and write Backſide,—'tis Bawdy.
Aposiopesis leaves imperfect sense; And, sometimes, such a pause speaks eloquence.
“If you are not—” The aposiopesis was icy.
This somewhat abrupt ending (or aposiopesis) is caused by a previous movement from the figure on the bed.
Use aposiopesis when its meaning, tone and grammar fit the full sentence. A synonym is not always a direct replacement.
Aposiopesis means (rhetoric) An abrupt breaking-off in speech, often indicated in print using an ellipsis (…) or an em dash (—)..
Common synonyms include reticence.
The opposite depends on the specific sense.
“Have fire in this garret before night or—” / He stopped because he could not go on. It was an aposiopesis of the purest kind.
FreeDictionaryAPI.com / Wiktionary · Original source · CC BY-SA 4.0
Dictionary data is provided by FreeDictionaryAPI.com and sourced from Wiktionary under its stated license.