apophasis

apoph·a·sis

noun \ə-ˈpä-fə-səs\

Definition of APOPHASIS

: the raising of an issue by claiming not to mention it (as in “we won't discuss his past crimes”)

Origin of APOPHASIS

Late Latin, repudiation, from Greek, denial, negation, from apophanai to deny, from apo- + phanai to say — more at ban

First Known Use: 1657

Other Literature Terms

bathos, bildungsroman, bowdlerize, caesura, coda, doggerel, euphemism, poesy, prosody