Apophasis
- “what is apophasis”
- “apophasis examples”
- “paralipsis meaning”
- “not to mention rhetorical device”
:: COMPARE ::
ApophasisvsParalipsis
The short answer
Handbooks use these interchangeably as often as they distinguish them, and when they do distinguish, they disagree about how. Any source stating the difference with total confidence is reporting one tradition as though it were the only one.
Side by side
| Aspect | Apophasis | Paralipsis |
|---|---|---|
| Core sense | Speaking by denying | Passing over |
| Agreed distinction | No | No |
| Used as synonyms | Frequently | Frequently |
| Effect | Identical | Identical |
Which one you meant
Readers who land here meaning Apophasis rather than Paralipsis are usually searching for phrases like “what is apophasis”, “apophasis examples”, “paralipsis meaning”.
Where the confusion comes from
“Apophasis and paralipsis are clearly different terms.”
The terminology is genuinely unsettled. Some handbooks treat apophasis, paralipsis and praeteritio as synonyms; others draw fine distinctions between them; and the distinctions drawn are not consistent between sources.
Read either one in full