epiplexis

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 0.00 in modern English

Syllables: epi-plex-is
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Meaning

noun

A rhetorical device where a sequence of rhetorical questions is used to criticise or blame, or more generally, to elicit an emotional response.

Example Sentences

"Afterwards, questioners employ the rhetorical figure called epiplexis. This interrogative figure is designed to blame the addressee, posing trick questions whose goal is to reveal whatever the speaker considers to be his or her faults. Epiplexis is backed up by cataplexis."
"Remember also to structure epiplexes with one of the patterns for figures with multiple elements we met in chapter three. Repeated rhetorical questions can move from general to specific, from short to long, from broad to narrow, but should always unpack like Russian dolls."

Etymology

From Latin epiplexis (“rebuke”), from Ancient Greek ἐπίπληξις (epíplēxis, “rebuke”), from ἐπιπλήσσω (epiplḗssō, “to chastise”), from ἐπι- (epi-, “upon”) (see epi-) + πλήσσω (plḗssō, “to strike”).

Origin

Source language: Latin

Word Breakdown

Root: epiplexis, ἐπίπληξις

Inflected Forms

epiplexes (plural)

Frequently Paired Words

epiplectic