Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun Allusion to something by denying that it will be mentioned, as in I will not bring up my opponent's questionable financial dealings.
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun In rhetoric, denial of an intention to speak of something which is at the same time hinted or insinuated; paralipsis (which see).
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun (Rhet.) A figure by which a speaker formally declines to take notice of a favorable point, but in such a manner as to produce the effect desired. [For example, see Mark Antony's oration. Shak., Julius Cæsar, iii. 2.]
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun rhetoric An
allusion to something bydenying that it will bementioned
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun mentioning something by saying it will not be mentioned
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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There is even a rhetorical figure of speech called apophasis (from the Greek word for "to deny"), in which the speaker stresses an idea by denying or negating it.
Joseph Romm: What's in a Name? If it's "No Child Left Behind," You Might be Surprised 2008
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This notion is so core to rhetoric that the ancient Greeks even had a figure of speech named for it -- apophasis, (from the Greek word for "to deny"), the figure of speech that emphasizes a point by pretending to deny it, that stresses an idea or image by negating it.
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This notion is so core to rhetoric that the ancient Greeks even had a figure of speech named for it -- apophasis, (from the Greek word for "to deny"), the figure of speech that emphasizes a point by pretending to deny it, that stresses an idea or image by negating it.
Joseph Romm: Obama, Don't Call McCain a Maverick Five Times in Your Ad! 2008
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Unlike other spiritual traditions, including Gnosticism, Pantheism, and forms of Christian apophasis and via negativa, the Buddhist understanding of oneness does not rely on the monotheistic perception of a centrally located source or an indwelling force or principle that acts to create coherency.
Shelley's Golden Wind: Zen Harmonics in _A Defence of Poetry_ and 'Ode to the WestWind' 2007
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Sorry, but that sounds more like apophasis than explanation.
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If you could could somehow mistake an explanation for apophasis, I will not bother to mention how impaired your interpretation is.
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I feel like declaring a public war on this species of weak claim, which is just another instance of apophasis.
Steve Janke and dead, sodomized hookers? Hey, I'm just sayin'. CC 2008
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I feel like declaring a public war on this species of weak claim, which is just another instance of apophasis.
Steve Janke and dead, sodomized hookers? Hey, I'm just sayin'. CC 2008
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Because there are all kinds of lying--deliberate obfuscation, apophasis, appeals to emotion, etc.
Steve Janke and dead, sodomized hookers? Hey, I'm just sayin'. CC 2008
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It's a learned literary-theological study that suggests not only do the great Russian's novels have a kenotic dimension (kenosis, roughly, is the spiritual emptying of one's will to become receptive to God) but also stresses what Russian Christianity inherited from the apophatic tradition (apophasis, roughly, is an inductive technique used by eastern Christians to demonstrate God's existence).
soulcurry commented on the word apophasis
- Seeming to be denying something while actually, really, affirming it.
- Mentioning by denying mention.
March 3, 2009
rolig commented on the word apophasis
"I come to bury Caesar, not to praise him . . ."
March 3, 2009
fbharjo commented on the word apophasis
to leap into mystery
April 11, 2011
Dizzy commented on the word apophasis
In the spiritual tradition, apophasis refers to the process of knowing through unknowing. It can be understood as the deconstruction of knowing. It is the process of "letting go" all understanding and experiencing the Divine directly.
July 28, 2012
qms commented on the word apophasis
News item: Trump Praises Self During, After Debate for Not Bringing Up Bill Clinton’s Infidelity
The Donald traversed discourtesy's axis
From casually rude to utterly classless.
Self-praise for his silences
On Bill's misalliances
Is no more than thuggishly crude apophasis.
September 27, 2016