Antiphrasis is the rhetorical device of saying the opposite of what is actually meant in such a way that it is obvious what the true intention is.[1]

Some authors treat and use antiphrasis just as irony, euphemism or litotes.[2]

When the antiphrasal use is very common, the word can become an auto-antonym,[3] having opposite meanings depending on context. For example, Spanish dichoso[4] originally meant "fortunate, blissful" as in tierra dichosa, "fortunate land", but it acquired the ironic and colloquial meaning of "infortunate, bothersome" as in ¡Dichosas moscas!, "Damned flies!".

Etymology

Antiphrasis is a Greek word which means 'opposite words'.[5][6]

Antiphrasis as euphemism

Some euphemisms are antiphrasis, such as "Eumenides" 'the gracious ones' to mean the Erinyes, deities of vengeance.

Examples

See also

Notes

  1. ^ Bernard Dupriez, tr. Albert W. Halsall, A Dictionary of Literary Devices: Gradus, A–Z, ISBN 0802068030, pp. 49–50
  2. ^ Merry, Bruce (2004). Encyclopedia of Modern Greek Literature. Greenwood Publishing Group. ISBN 978-0-313-30813-0.
  3. ^ Rubio Hancock, Jaime (28 August 2016). "19 autoantónimos: palabras que significan una cosa y la contraria". Verne (in Spanish). Ediciones El País. Retrieved 7 May 2023. Como explica Fundéu, a veces son el resultado de los usos irónicos y en ocasiones, de las antífrasis,
  4. ^ Prieto García-Seco, David (2021-05-28). "Rinconete. Lengua. «Huésped» o significar una cosa y la contraria". cvc.cervantes.es (in Spanish). Centro Virtual Cervantes. Retrieved 7 May 2023.
  5. ^ "Antiphrasis - Definition and Examples of Antiphrasis". Literary Devices. 2014-05-09. Retrieved 2021-04-04.
  6. ^ Brewer, Ebenezer Cobham (1882). Etymological and Pronouncing Dictionary of Difficult Words. Ward, Lock.
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