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epizeuxis

epizeuxis

9.9
A quick repeat of a word to add emphasis
  • noun
  • /ˌɛpɪˈzuːksɪs/
  • Literature
translation icon : epizeuxis
  • To emphasize her excitement, she exclaimed, 'This is it, it is happening, it is happening!' using an epizeuxis.

Examples

  • In his speech, the politician emphasized his main point with an epizeuxis by repeating the word 'unity' three times.

  • The poet used epizeuxis to create a haunting effect, echoing the word 'never' throughout the stanza.

  • Apodioxis and epizeuxis sound like diseases you wouldn't especially want to catch.

    Blog text (25)
  • Devices of repetition are foregrounded in "The Tell-Tale Heart," and there Poe frequently combines two such devices: epizeuxis and diacope.

    Academic text (1997)
  • Close relatives of anadiplosis include epizeuxis, palilogia, duplicatio (and similar cognates), and ploce.

    Fiction book (1996)
  • We also consider specific rhetorical figures in the tales that convey the psychological/emotional states of Poe's frenzied narrators (for instance, litotes, meiosis, epizeuxis, diacope).

    Academic text (1997)

Synonyms

repetition
vsepizeuxis
  • Literature
10 3.2

Using the same word or phrase to make a point stronger and create a rhythm

is immediate reuse right next to the word rather than general multiple uses
reiteration
vsepizeuxis
3 4.9

An action of saying or doing the same thing again to make it clear and show its importance

is a specific rhetorical device focusing on immediate emphasis rather than general restatement
gemination
vsepizeuxis
  • Literature
9.9

Repeating a word or short phrase immediately to make it stronger

is the same device but usually named differently in rhetorical terminology
ploce
vsepizeuxis
  • Literature
9.9

Repeating a word or short phrase in a sentence to add emphasis

is immediate use of the same word right next to itself for emphasis

Surface Forms

epizeuxis singular
epizeuxes plural

Etymology

Epizeuxis comes from the Greek parts epi- 'upon' and zeuxis 'joining', like a yoke that joins two oxen. So epizeuxis is like a word 'yoked' to itself — repeated right away to make the idea stronger.