WOTD: apophasis
Phonetic Spelling: uh-POF-uh-sis
Part(s) of Speech: noun
Meaning(s):
- Denial of one’s intention to speak of a subject that is at the same time named or insinuated, as “I shall not mention Caesar’s avarice, nor his cunning, nor his morality.”
Example:
But I think that anything that is deep isn’t love, it’s deliberate calculation or schizophrenia. I myself wouldn’t even attempt to say what love is – probably both love and God can only be defined by apophasis, through those things that they are not.
— Viktor Pelevin, The Sacred Book of the Werewolf
“…Now, I have no desire to be a backseat driver—” Apophasis, Chris thought; saying you’re not going to say something in order to say it. Nixon’s favorite device, and Newt Gingrich’s, and Karl Rove’s—fine old Republican tradition.
— John Barnes, Directive 51
Origin:
Apophasis stems from the Greek word apópha meaning “to say no, deny.” The suffix -sis appears in Greek loanwords, where it forms an abstract noun from a verb, as in thesis.