Definitions

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun In rhetoric, a figure in which the same words or ideas are repeated in inverse order.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun (Rhet.) A figure in which the same words or ideas are repeated in transposed order.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun rhetoric The technique of reversal, where accentuated by reversal of words, actions or grammatical structure.

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Ancient Greek ἀντιμεταβολή.

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Examples

  • The classical rhetorician called that antimetabole, though modern speech writers tend to refer to it as the reversible raincoat.

    Analyzing The Text Of Obama's Inaugural Address 2009

  • This anxiety produces an exchange between Edward and his uncle Richard that shows the youngster's verbal dexterity in the rhetorical figure of antimetabole, or the symmetrical repetition of words in inverted order:

    Shakespeare Bevington, David 2002

  • How many even know the meaning of anaphora, antimetabole or litotes?

    The Chicago Blog 2009

  • How many even know the meaning of anaphora, antimetabole or litotes?

    The Chicago Blog 2009

  • How many even know the meaning of anaphora, antimetabole or litotes?

    The Chicago Blog 2009

  • How many even know the meaning of anaphora, antimetabole or litotes?

    The Chicago Blog 2009

  • How many even know the meaning of anaphora, antimetabole or litotes?

    The Chicago Blog 2009

  • How many even know the meaning of anaphora, antimetabole or litotes?

    The Chicago Blog 2009

  • How many even know the meaning of anaphora, antimetabole or litotes?

    The Chicago Blog 2009

  • How many even know the meaning of anaphora, antimetabole or litotes?

    The Chicago Blog 2009

Comments

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  • Often confused with chiasmus, this is the correct term for the rhetorical trick of reversing two words in two clauses of a sentence for a clever bit of wordplay. For instance,

    We must master our fear, or fear will be our master

    President George W. Bush's speechwriters seem especially fond of this technique, almost to the point of caricature.

    September 3, 2008

  • Woo, wordies are ahead of the ball.

    September 6, 2008

  • a.k.a. the reversible raincoat.

    January 25, 2009

  • JM consults his timetable to determine the antimetabole.

    December 17, 2010