Standard Lemma guide

paraprosdokian

noun · 1 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.

  • /ˌpæɹəˌpɹoʊsˈdoʊkiən/
  • Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.

1

noun

Meaning 1

A figure of speech in which the latter part of a sentence or phrase is surprising or unexpected in a way that causes the reader or listener to reframe or reinterpret the first part.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: rhetoric

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

From Ancient Greek παρά (pará, “against”) + προσδοκία (prosdokía, “expectation”).

Across languages

Translations

3 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Chinese Mandarin: 句子在最後有意想不到的結尾 — figure of speech
  • Chinese Mandarin: 句子在最后有意想不到的结尾 (jùzi zài zuìhòu yìxiǎngbudào de jiéwěi) — figure of speech
  • Finnish: yllätys — figure of speech