antiphrasis
antiphrasis · antiphrases
Antiphrasis, Antiphrase
Use of a word or phrase in a sense opposite of its literal meaning, especially for…Use of a word or phrase in a sense opposite of its literal meaning, especially for ironic or humorous effect.
/ænˈtɪfrəsɪs/
Meaning
1 senses(countable, rhetoric, uncountable)Use of a word or phrase in a sense opposite of its literal meaning, especially for ironic or humorous effect.
When they called him “bad as hell”, they weren’t calling him evil. It was antiphrasis.
Antiphrasis, Antiphrase
the use of a word in a sense opposite to its normal sense (especially in irony)
Translations
6 languagesDeutsch
By meaning 1
use of a word or phrase in a sense not in accord with its literal meaning:
Origin
Borrowed from Late Latin antiphrasis, itself a borrowing from Ancient Greek ἀντίφρασις (anBorrowed from Late Latin antiphrasis, itself a borrowing from Ancient Greek ἀντίφρασις (antíphrasis) (< phrazein "declare").
Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · source
Forms
plural: antiphrases| Singular | antiphrasis |
|---|---|
| Plural | antiphrases |
irregular
Word family
1 related wordsRelatedantiphrastic
Lessons for this word
1 lessons- A1Countable and uncountable nouns — Because it can be uncountable