Definitions
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- n. See paralipsis.
Wiktionary
- n. rhetoric, linguistics A figure of speech in which one pretends to ignore or omit something by actually mentioning it, as in: "I do not speak of my adversary's scandalous venality and rapacity, his brutal conduct, his treachery and malice".
GNU Webster's 1913
- n. (Rhet.) A pretended or apparent omission; a figure by which a speaker artfully pretends to pass by what he really mentions; as, for example, if an orator should say, “I do not speak of my adversary's scandalous venality and rapacity, his brutal conduct, his treachery and malice.”
WordNet 3.0
- n. suggesting by deliberately concise treatment that much of significance is omitted
Etymologies
- From Ancient Greek παράλειψις (paraleipsis, "omission"), from παραλείπω (paraleipō, "I pass over"), from παρά (para, "by, near") + λείπω (leipō, "I leave"). (Wiktionary)
Examples
“Michael B says: jukeboxgrad, wise and venerable one, preeminent in modesty and modest formulations (I mock not, nor [now to the audience in feigned sotto voce], nor do I indulge any mean paraleipsis),”
The Volokh Conspiracy » Andrew McCarthy Sticks to His Guns (And He May Be Pointing Them at You Next)
““I shall not introduce—the rhetoricians call this paraleipsis—the wonderful woman sitting, appropriately, on my left, Mrs. Robert Kennedy.””
Simon & Schuster: The Right Word in the Right Place at the Right Time
“That is an example of paraleipsis, the rhetorical technique of pointing something out by asserting you will not point it out, often preceded by the phrase “not to mention.””
Simon & Schuster: The Right Word in the Right Place at the Right Time
“Demoniacally arthropodan be a coastward that gets inaudible and we go from paraleipsis topping backstop to scandinavian butty.”
“jukeboxgrad, wise and venerable one, preeminent in modesty and modest formulations I mock not, nor now to the audience in feigned sotto voce, nor do I indulge any mean paraleipsis”
The Volokh Conspiracy » Andrew McCarthy Sticks to His Guns (And He May Be Pointing Them at You Next)
“Don’t even mention," a locution known in rhetoric as a paraleipsis.”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘paraleipsis’.
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Verba Dilecta
delectable, notate, pauciloquy, paucity, pauciloquent, paucify, interscapilium, uropygium, inferna, nota, equipollent, prepollent and 677 more...
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deidionysus's list
Words, words, words!
cartesian, shavian, dithyramb, dreadnaught, lea, adamantine, titanomachy, theomachy, aethereal, ambrosia, ambrosial, aether and 183 more...
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discoveries
These are lexical items new to me that I've discovered in actual use (i.e. not in dictionaries, lists, or this site).
Looking back over this list, I haven't the slightest idea what mos...haymow, hawsepipe, stridor, bariatric, autotelic, apotropaic, cyanotype, tourelle, autobody, zudecca, stifado, corbeille and 1073 more...
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richardr's Words
marmoreal, osteology, tyromancy, metalepsis, idioglossia, tapinosis, epicaricacy, carromancy, rogation, senex, aulic, gemütlichkeit and 279 more...
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2008 Wordlist
Hopefully, I'll be using this site for more than one year. It will be fun then to look back and see what new words I found worthy of notice in any given year.
All words spotted in 2008...longanimity, permalancer, breeder, biodegradable, handicapable, gender-neutral, translator, interpreter, translation, interpreting, kleptocracy, fanfiction and 1598 more...
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bokane's list
acatalectic, litotes, prolepsis, opopanax, petrichor, paronomasia, polysyndeton, apophasis, paraleipsis, synchysis, hysteron proteron, aposiopesis
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I always look up the word egregious
heuristic, bemused, Byzantine, tendentious, invidious, paraprosdokian, acnestis, dysania, paraleipsis
Tweets
Looking for tweets for paraleipsis.
mialuthien See also praeteritio and apophasis. Jul 22, 2008