Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

cataplexis

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: 0.00 in modern English

Syllables: cat-a-plex-is
IPA

21

Scrabble Score

10

Letters

4

Syllables

9

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

A rhetorical device in which a threat of retribution (especially of divine punishment) is made in response to wrongdoing.

Uncountable

Example Sentences

"In III.v's [sc. Ben Jonson's Epicoene] final sixty lines, Morose and Truewit wish calamity on Cutbeard: 'May he get the itch, and his shop so lousy as no man dare come at him' (III.v.70-71). They focus half of their cataplexis on Cutbeard's body, which they hope will develop blotches and gout, and the other half on the objects of his trade."

Etymology

From Ancient Greek κατάπληξις (katáplēxis, “amazement, consternation”), from καταπλήσσω (kataplḗssō, “to amaze, astound”).

Origin

Source language: Ancient Greek

Word Breakdown

Root: κατάπληξις

Usage

Uncountable

Frequently Paired Words

cataplexy

Synonyms

commination

Questions

What does cataplexis mean?: A rhetorical device in which a threat of retribution (especially of divine punishment) is made in response to wrongdoing.
Where does cataplexis come from?: It is traced to Ancient Greek.

How to pronounce cataplexis

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