Standard Lemma guide

paralipsis

noun · 2 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • UK, US: /ˌpæ.ɹəˈlɪp.sɪs/
  • Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.

1

noun

Meaning 1

A figure of speech in which one pretends to ignore or omit something by actually mentioning it.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, rhetoric, uncountable

Topics: human-sciences, linguistics, sciences

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: apophasis, preterition

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

suggesting by deliberately concise treatment that much of significance is omitted

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: paralepsis, paraleipsis, preterition

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: rhetorical device

History

Etymology

From Ancient Greek παράλειψις (paráleipsis, “omission”), from παραλείπω (paraleípō, “I pass over”), from παρά (pará, “by, near”) + λείπω (leípō, “I leave”).

Across languages

Translations

8 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Finnish: paralipsis — figure of speech — see also apophasis
  • French: paralipse — figure of speech — see also apophasis
  • German: Paralipse — figure of speech — see also apophasis
  • Irish: parathagra — figure of speech — see also apophasis
  • Italian: paralissi — figure of speech — see also apophasis
  • Italian: preterizione — figure of speech — see also apophasis
  • Polish: paralipsa — figure of speech — see also apophasis
  • Spanish: paralipsis — figure of speech — see also apophasis