erotesis
/ɛɹəˈtiːsɪs/
erotesis noun: a figure of speech whereby a question is asked in confident expectation of a negative answer.
Noun
erotesis (plural eroteses)
- A figure of speech whereby a question is asked in confident expectation of a negative answer.
- he would ſometimes break off in a ſudden and ſpirited Epiphonema, or rather Erotesis […] and demand it categorically of his antagoniſt, Whether he would take upon him to ſay, he had ever remember'd,—whether he had ever read,–or even whether he had ever heard tell of a man, call'd Tristram...1759, [Laurence Sterne], chapter XIX, in The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman, 2nd (1st London) edition, volume I, London: […] R[obert] and J[ames] Dodsley […], published 1760, →OCLC...
- By Erotesis, what we know we ask,
Prescribing, for effect, a needless task.1835, L[arret] Langley, “[Rhetorical Figures.] Erotesis.”, in A Manual of the Figures of Rhetoric, […], Doncaster, South Yorkshire: […] C. White, […], →OCLC, page 31
Forms of erotesis
| plural | eroteses |
|---|
Origin of erotesis
From Late Latin erotesis, from Ancient Greek ἐρώτησις (erṓtēsis), from ἐρωτάω (erōtáō, “I question”).
Words formed from erotesis
Questions about erotesis
- What does erotesis mean?
- Erotesis means a figure of speech whereby a question is asked in confident expectation of a negative answer.
- What part of speech is erotesis?
- Erotesis is a noun.
- How do you pronounce erotesis?
- Erotesis is pronounced /ɛɹəˈtiːsɪs/.
- What is the plural of erotesis?
- The plural of erotesis is eroteses.
Words near erotesis in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: erotesis (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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