Definition:
An unfinished thought or broken sentence.
Etymology:
From the Greek, "maintaining silence"Examples:
- "I will have such revenges on you both
That all the world shall--I will do things--
What they are yet, I know not; but they shall be
The terrors of the earth!"
(William Shakespeare, King Lear) - "They couldn't hit an elephant at this dist. . . ."
(Last words of General John Sedgwick, killed in battle during the U.S. Civil War) - "I won't sleep in the same bed with a woman who thinks I'm lazy! I'm going right downstairs, unfold the couch, unroll the sleeping ba--uh, goodnight."
(Homer Simpson in The Simpsons) - "Sor Juana invokes a variant of aposiopesis (without using the term) at the beginning of La Respuesta. She tells Sor Filotea that the challenge of responding to her almost left her resolved to 'leave the matter in silence; yet although silence explains much by the emphasis of leaving all unexplained, because it is a negative thing, one must name the silence, so that what it signifies may be understood. Failing that, silence will say nothing, for that is its proper function: to say nothing.' In other words, she interrupts her own potential silence to call attention to it as meaningful."
(Julie A. Bokser, "Sor Juana’s Rhetoric of Silence," May 1999) - "Aposiopesis means breaking off in mid-sentence, as in: the party that does most to master rhetorical methods between now and May 5 will, I predict . . ."
(David McKie, "Will It Play in Aporia?" The Guardian, April 7, 2005) - "Secondly, the tactics of our--as you know, we don't have relationships with Iran. I mean that's -- ever since the late 70's, we have no contacts with them, and we've totally sanctioned them. In other words, there's no sanctions--you can't--we're out of sanctions."
(George W. Bush, July 16, 2003)
Pronunciation: AP-uh-SI-uh-PEE-sis
