Meaning

(rhetoric) The assignment of something to a period of time that precedes it..

Definitions by Sense

1. (rhetoric) The assignment of something to a period of time that precedes it.
2. (rhetoric) The anticipation of an objection to an argument.
3. (grammar, rhetoric) A construction that consists of placing an element in a syntactic unit before that to which it would logically correspond.
4. (philosophy, epistemology) A so-called "preconception", i.e., a pre-theoretical notion which can lead to true knowledge of the world.
5. (botany) Growth in which lateral branches develop from a lateral meristem, after the formation of a bud or following a period of dormancy, when the lateral meristem is split from a terminal meristem.
6. (narratology) The practice of placing information about the ending of a story near the beginning, as a literary device.

Example Sentences

Prolepsis makes objections; then replies; And wisely thus anticipates surprise.

Point (1) seems to imply that one may have a false judgement because of a mismatch between different criteria for truth. For example, my sensation is paired with a prolepsis of a horse, therefore I make an assertion that ‘there is a horse’, which upon further inspection may turn out to be a cow.

[…] [Edmund] Plovvden being of the Romiſh perſvvaſion, ſome Setters trapanned him (pardon the prolepſis) to hear Maſſe: But aftervvards Plovvden underſtanding, that the pretender to Officiate vvas no Prieſt, but a meer Lay-man (on deſigne to make a diſcovering) Oh! The caſe is altered quoth Plovvden: No Priest, no Maſſe.

Word Forms

• prolepses

Synonyms for prolepsis

Antonyms for prolepsis

Related Words

When Should You Use Prolepsis?

Use prolepsis when its meaning, tone and grammar fit the full sentence. A synonym is not always a direct replacement.

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