Definition

1. Adjective:
   • Relating to or characteristic of aposiopesis: Describes a rhetorical device where a sentence is deliberately broken off and left unfinished, often for dramatic effect or to convey strong emotion.

Usage Examples

• Adjective:
  • The writer's aposiopetic style was effective in conveying the character's overwhelming rage.
  • His speech was filled with aposiopetic pauses, leaving the audience in suspense.

Advanced Usage

• Aposiopetic Figure: A rhetorical figure involving a sudden break.
  • The soliloquy uses an aposiopetic figure to show the speaker's inner turmoil.

Variants and Related Words

• Aposiopesis (n): The rhetorical device itself—a sudden breaking off in speech.
  • The use of aposiopesis in the dialogue created a powerful sense of interruption.

Synonyms

• Elliptical: Using or involving ellipsis; leaving out words.
• Broken-off: Abruptly ended.

Related Phrases

• Trailing off: To speak gradually more quietly or unclearly before stopping.
  • His sentence ended in a trailing off, similar to an aposiopetic effect.

Adjective

1. relating to or characteristic of aposiopesis