aposiopesis

2 definitions found

aposiopesis - Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 :

  Aposiopesis \Ap`o*si`o*pe"sis\ (?; 277), n. [L., fr. Gr. ?, from
     ? to be quite silent.] (Rhet.)
     A figure of speech in which the speaker breaks off suddenly,
     as if unwilling or unable to state what was in his mind; as,
     "I declare to you that his conduct -- but I can not speak of
     that, here."
     [1913 Webster]

aposiopesis - WordNet (r) 2.1 (2005) :

  aposiopesis
      n 1: breaking off in the middle of a sentence (as by writers of
           realistic conversations)