Word.ws English Dictionary

elenchus

/ɪˈlɛŋ.kəs/

elenchus noun: a technique of argument associated with Socrates wherein the arguer asks the interlocutor to agree with a series of premises and conclusions, ending with the arguer's intended point.

Noun

elenchus (plural elenchi)

  1. (rhetoric) A technique of argument associated with Socrates wherein the arguer asks the interlocutor to agree with a series of premises and conclusions, ending with the arguer's intended point.
    • The elenchus begins when an interlocutor makes some moral claim that Socrates wishes to examine. The argument then proceeds from premisses that express certain of the interlocutor’s other beliefs to a conclusion that contradicts the original moral claim under scrutiny.1991, Thomas c. Brickhouse, Nicholas D. Smith, “Socrates’ Elenctic Mission”, in Oxford Studies in Ancient Philosophy, volume IX, Oxford University Press, →ISBN, pages 131–132
    Synonyms:
    Socratic method

elenchus meaning in Tamil

elenchus in Tamil

அகமுரண், தன் முரண்பாடு

Synonyms of elenchus

Forms of elenchus

pluralelenchi

Origin of elenchus

From Latin elenchus, from Ancient Greek ἔλεγχος (élenkhos, “refutation, scrutiny, control”). Doublet of elench.

Words formed from elenchus

Questions about elenchus

What does elenchus mean?
Elenchus means a technique of argument associated with Socrates wherein the arguer asks the interlocutor to agree with a series of premises and conclusions, ending with the arguer's intended point.
What is elenchus in Tamil?
Elenchus in Tamil is அகமுரண், தன் முரண்பாடு. See Elenchus meaning in Tamil.
What part of speech is elenchus?
Elenchus is a noun.
How do you pronounce elenchus?
Elenchus is pronounced /ɪˈlɛŋ.kəs/.
What is the plural of elenchus?
The plural of elenchus is elenchi.

Words near elenchus in the dictionary

  1. elenchizes
  2. elenchizing
  3. elenchs
  4. elenchtic
  5. elenchtical
  6. elenchus
  7. elenctic
  8. elenctic method
  9. elenctical
  10. elenge
  11. Eleni

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: elenchus (page history and authors); elenchus (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Cite this entry: “elenchus.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/elenchus. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.