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!".
^Bernard Dupriez, tr. Albert W. Halsall, A Dictionary of Literary Devices: Gradus, A–Z, ISBN 0802068030, pp. 49–50
^Merry, Bruce (2004). Encyclopedia of Modern Greek Literature. Greenwood Publishing Group. ISBN 978-0-313-30813-0.
^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,
^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.
¡Dichosas moscas!, "Damned flies!". Antiphrasis is a Greek word which means 'opposite words'. Some euphemisms are antiphrasis, such as "Eumenides" 'the gracious...
in a taxonomy, e.g., the confusion of mouse and rat in some dialects. Antiphrasis: Change based on a contrastive aspect of the concepts, e.g., perfect...
disappointed on the best side') means 'to be pleasantly surprised'. Antiphrasis Hyperbole "litotes". Oxford English Dictionary (Online ed.). Oxford University...
Negative words such as bad and sick sometimes acquire ironic senses by antiphrasis referring to traits that are impressive and admired, if not necessarily...
coined by mountaineer Sir Arnold Lunn. It has not entered common use. Antiphrasis Autantonym Euphemism Geoffrey T. Hellman, The Talk of the Town, "Phrop...
the cupboard for twenty days, because then it would turn into wine." Antiphrasis Apophatic theology Argument from ignorance Argument from silence Elephant...
derrière) Proper Names Rhyming Slang (Loucherbem) Back Slang (Javanais) Antiphrasis Dog Latin More or Less Opera English (Italianismes) For ze Frrensh (Poor...
something that is not human, such as an animal or a god (see zoomorphism). Antiphrasis: a name or a phrase used ironically such that it is obvious of what the...
strategy by writing against the grain of her meaning, also known as antiphrasis. By 1405, Christine had completed her most famous literary works, The...
meaning of the corresponding negative, or vice versa. For examples see antiphrasis and sarcasm. For the use of double negations or similar as understatements...
be interpreted figuratively. Understanding tropes such as irony and antiphrasis will also be beneficial for interpretation. The final section of Book...
family, who, although extremely hardworking, has been nicknamed (for antiphrasis) the Malavoglia ("The Reluctant Ones"). The head of the family is Padron...
André Breton. The name Group Ongaku asserted the same combination of antiphrasis and urgent supplantation, humiliation, and liberation with which Breton...
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