Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- n. Allusion to something by denying that it will be mentioned, as in I will not bring up my opponent's questionable financial dealings.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- n. In rhetoric, denial of an intention to speak of something which is at the same time hinted or insinuated; paralipsis (which see).
Wiktionary
GNU Webster's 1913
- n. (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.]
WordNet 3.0
- n. mentioning something by saying it will not be mentioned
Etymologies
- From Ancient Greek ἀπόφασις (apophasis), via Latin apophasis. (Wiktionary)
- Late Latin, from Greek, from apophanai, to say no : apo-, apo- + phanai, to say; see bhā-2 in Indo-European roots. (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)
Examples
“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
“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.”
“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'
“Sorry, but that sounds more like apophasis than explanation.”
“If you could could somehow mistake an explanation for apophasis, I will not bother to mention how impaired your interpretation is.”
“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).”
“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'.
“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'.
“In the example of apophasis, a statement in better faith would be to simply assert what one wants to directly and hopefully, back it up with evidence of some kind rather than imply it with plausible deniability built right in.”
Steve Janke and dead, sodomized hookers? Hey, I'm just sayin'.
“Thus, every assertion is either the affirmation kataphasis or the denial (apophasis) of a single predicate of a single subject.”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘apophasis’.
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Even More 250 Spelling Words
Good for intermediate and advanced spellers and anybody who wants to use words with precision
maculature, mochila, twankay, hyson, isocryme, glasnost, ozaena, locavore, frazil, sclaff, chautauqua, bergamot and 238 more...
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Rare Words - A
Not just rare words, but thousands of RARE WORDS WITH DEFINITIONS.
If you want to see the definitions, too, go to
http://phrontistery.i...aba, abacinate, abactor, abaculus, abaft, abampere, abapical, abarticular, abasement, abasia, abask, abatis and 1214 more...
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Rhetorical Devices
trope, wellerism, antimetabole, syncope, open-list, accismus, abating, abbaser, abecedarian, abcisio, ablatio, abominatio and 425 more...
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Logolepsy
"Luciferous Logolepsy is a collection of over 9,000 obscure English words. Though the definition of an 'English' word might seem to be straightforward, it is not. There exist so many adopted, deriv...
Anschauung, Areopagus, Argus, Briarean, Dei gratia, Dei judicium, Deo volente, Duecento, Foehn, Geflugelte Worte, Gegenschein, Hakenkreuz and 9230 more...
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phrontistery - a
from phrontistery.info
aba, abacinate, abactor, abaculus, abaft, abampere, abapical, abarticular, abasement, abasia, abask, abatis and 1214 more...
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Words So Useful That They Would be Ov...
gardyloo, avunculize, prorogue, mortmain, growlery, accubitus, harridan, illeism, apophasis, tmesis, palimpsest, catmalison and 7 more...
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Words to Remember
apodyopsis, apophenia, aposiopesis, meiosis, rebarbative, compline, comity, farouche, apophasis, averruncate, apodictic, carriwitchet and 3 more...
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Just 'cause I like 'em, A
abaculus, abacus, abaft, abarticular, abbreviate, abeyance, abiding, anthocyanin, antemeridian, arcane, adjure, adduce and 418 more...
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work these into conversation
Challenge!
legerdemain, polysemic, rupestrian, callipygian, oscitancy, numen, lucubration, asperity, amalgam, apposite, wastrel, eleemosynary and 208 more...
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juv3nal's Words
ligature, hermeneutic, caduceus, prelapsarian, apophenia, pataphor, lipogram, epinephrine, ludic, samizdat, oulipo, oulipopo and 194 more...
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ktrey's wordlist
Words that I like.
Many may be lexicographically impotent due to a lack of citations and definition. Hopefully I'll be able to rectify this eventually.velleity, dispositive, bloviate, bibulous, fungible, concupiscence, avuncular, carnaptious, thrawn, hypocoristic, diegesis, lagniappe and 928 more...
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Review
Words to study and become more familiar with.
phatic, tontine, backronym, polyptoton, fissiparous, deus ex machina, orrery, prolly, mad props, snog, oubliette, copyleft and 101 more...
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bintalshamsa's list
My Favorite Words
weltschmerz, perspicacity, idée fixe, invigilator, salubrious, tchotchke, ex nihilo, invidious, malapropism, naïve, sardonic, elide and 1459 more...
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GRE
Taisha GRE Bible
archaic, archetype, archipelago, architect, archive, arctic, ardor, arduous, argot, arid, armory, arrest and 289 more...
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My Revised GRE Preparation List
Words from the new GRE : This list consists mostly of words from the book Magoosh-GRE-vocab-ebook, which is one of the best vocab materials available, especially if you have started preparing one ...
alacrity, prosaic, veracity, paucity, contrite, trite, maintain, laconic, pugnacious, disparate, egregious, innocuous and 533 more...
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ADW1
obdurate, obstinate, behest, injunction, enjoin, circumspect, ensconce, discursive, lugubrious, doleful, somber, ken and 2476 more...
Tweets
Looking for tweets for apophasis.

Dizzy 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. Jul 28, 2012
fbharjo to leap into mystery Apr 10, 2011
rolig "I come to bury Caesar, not to praise him . . ." Mar 3, 2009
soulcurry - Seeming to be denying something while actually, really, affirming it.
- Mentioning by denying mention. Mar 3, 2009