Antiphrasis is the
rhetorical device
In rhetoric, a rhetorical device, persuasive device, or stylistic device is a technique that an author or speaker uses to convey to the listener or reader a meaning with the goal of persuading them towards considering a topic from a perspective, ...
of saying the opposite of what is actually meant in such a way that it is obvious what the true intention is.
[Bernard Dupriez, tr. Albert W. Halsall, ''A Dictionary of Literary Devices: Gradus, A–Z'', , pp. 49–50]
Some authors treat and use antiphrasis just as
irony
Irony (), in its broadest sense, is the juxtaposition of what on the surface appears to be the case and what is actually the case or to be expected; it is an important rhetorical device and literary technique.
Irony can be categorized into ...
,
euphemism
A euphemism () is an innocuous word or expression used in place of one that is deemed offensive or suggests something unpleasant. Some euphemisms are intended to amuse, while others use bland, inoffensive terms for concepts that the user wishes ...
or
litotes
In rhetoric, litotes (, or ), also known classically as ''antenantiosis'' or ''moderatour'', is a figure of speech and form of verbal irony in which understatement is used to emphasize a point by stating a negative to further affirm a positive, o ...
.
Etymology
Antiphrasis is a Greek word which means 'opposite words'.
Antiphrasis as euphemism
Some
euphemism
A euphemism () is an innocuous word or expression used in place of one that is deemed offensive or suggests something unpleasant. Some euphemisms are intended to amuse, while others use bland, inoffensive terms for concepts that the user wishes ...
s are antiphrasis, such as "Eumenides" 'the gracious ones' to mean the
Erinyes
The Erinyes ( ; sing. Erinys ; grc, Ἐρινύες, pl. of ), also known as the Furies, and the Eumenides, were female chthonic deities of vengeance in ancient Greek religion and mythology. A formulaic oath in the '' Iliad'' invokes t ...
, deities of vengeance.
Examples
* "Take your time, we've got all day", meaning "hurry up, we don't have all day".
* "Come into my parlour, said the spider to the fly" appears to be an invitation, but is in fact a threat.
* "Tell me about it", in the sense of "don't bother, I already know".
* "Great!", an exclamation uttered when something unpleasant had happened or is about to happen.
* "Bless your heart", a
Southern expression that can mean "I disagree, but you are too dumb to know otherwise".
See also
*
Irony
Irony (), in its broadest sense, is the juxtaposition of what on the surface appears to be the case and what is actually the case or to be expected; it is an important rhetorical device and literary technique.
Irony can be categorized into ...
*
Litotes
In rhetoric, litotes (, or ), also known classically as ''antenantiosis'' or ''moderatour'', is a figure of speech and form of verbal irony in which understatement is used to emphasize a point by stating a negative to further affirm a positive, o ...
*
Satire
Satire is a genre of the visual, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, often with the intent of shaming or e ...
*
Sarcasm
Sarcasm is the caustic use of words, often in a humorous way, to mock someone or something. Sarcasm may employ ambivalence, although it is not necessarily ironic. Most noticeable in spoken word, sarcasm is mainly distinguished by the inflection ...
Notes
Rhetorical techniques
Figures of speech
{{Rhetoric-stub