Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun The omission of conjunctions from constructions in which they would normally be used, as in
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun In rhetoric, a figure of speech consisting in the omission of connectives, as in the following passage:
- noun It is the opposite of
polysyndeton , which is a multiplication of connectives.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun (Rhet.) A figure which omits the connective. It stands opposed to
polysyndeton .
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun rhetoric A stylistic
scheme in whichconjunctions are deliberately omitted from a series of words, phrases,clauses .
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun the omission of conjunctions where they would normally be used
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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W. Sean McLaughlin, of Alexandria, Virginia, wrote, I was immediately inspired by the arcane grammatical term asyndeton [defined in the American Heritage Dictionary as 'the omission of conjunctions from constructions in which they would normally be used'] and thought minor modifications might yield the right meaning: a-senditon.
Word Fugitives 2005
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W. Sean McLaughlin, of Alexandria, Virginia, wrote, I was immediately inspired by the arcane grammatical term asyndeton [defined in the American Heritage Dictionary as 'the omission of conjunctions from constructions in which they would normally be used'] and thought minor modifications might yield the right meaning: a-senditon.
Word Fugitives 2005
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[23] The "asyndeton" would seem to mark a pause, unless some words have dropped out.
The Economist 431 BC-350? BC Xenophon 1874
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This figure often occurs public address with others such as antithesis, anaphora, asyndeton, climax, epistrophe and symploce.
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Therefore the figure asyndeton, whereby conjunctions are omitted, is highly commended by writers of rhetoric.
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= The asyndeton in this distich is odd, given the preceding series of connectives.
The Last Poems of Ovid 43 BC-18? Ovid
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Grant points out to me the asyndeton following _quaere ... sintne_.
The Last Poems of Ovid 43 BC-18? Ovid
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According to the manuscripts the preceding line ends with VTAR; I have printed Heinsius 'VSVS, since there would otherwise be an asyndeton between _utar_ and _aspiciam_.
The Last Poems of Ovid 43 BC-18? Ovid
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Lot makes his summons urgent: "Rise, go forth" -- effective asyndeton.
Exposition of Genesis: Volume 1 1892-1972 1942
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The asyndeton of the last clause marks the writer's (or speaker's) indignation.
Exposition of Genesis: Volume 1 1892-1972 1942
hernesheir commented on the word asyndeton
Peas, beans, barley, corn, clawfoot tubs, ideas.
January 17, 2009
hernesheir commented on the word asyndeton
cf. polysyndeton, "Two all-beef patties and special sauce and lettuce and cheese and pickles and onions on a sesame seed bun" might be called a Mcpolysyndeton.
January 17, 2009
knitandpurl commented on the word asyndeton
"By analyzing this "modern art of everyday expression" as it appears in accounts of spatial practices, J.-F. Augoyard discerns in it two especially fundamental stylistic figures: synecdoche and asyndeton."
The Practice of Everyday Life by Michel de Certeau, p 101
March 25, 2011
bojan commented on the word asyndeton
"In some ways, he was this town at its best--strong, hard-driving, working feverishly, pushing, building, driven by ambitions so big they seemed Texas-boastful."
(Mike Royko, "A Tribute")
July 14, 2011