What does paralipsis mean?
Paralipsis is a formal name for an omission, especially one that changes the force or completeness of speech or writing. In everyday use, it often suggests that a speaker has left out material an attentive reader might expect: a qualification, a fact, or the point of an argument. The term can also describe a deliberate rhetorical omission, so it does not always imply carelessness or deception. In discussions of rhetoric, paralipsis can refer more specifically to leaving a topic unstated and allowing the audience to supply an inference. Its usefulness lies in distinguishing a missing element from the ordinary shortening or abbreviation involved in ellipsis. For example, a speech that fails to mention an obvious conflict may be analyzed for paralipsis, while a sentence such as “the results were unexpected…” illustrates ellipsis. The word is uncommon outside careful discussion of language, rhetoric, and communication, but it offers a precise way to name what is left out—and sometimes what that absence accomplishes.
nounAn omission, especially of information or a qualification in speech or writing. In rhetoric, it may also refer to deliberately leaving a topic unstated so that the audience supplies an inference.
- The act or instance of omitting information, a qualification, or another element from speech or writing.
- A rhetorical omission in which a speaker leaves a topic unstated and invites the audience to infer its significance.
"By omitting the committee's warning, the minister turned the briefing into an exercise in paralipsis."
"By omitting the committee's warning, the minister turned the briefing into an exercise in paralipsis."
"The essay's method relies on paralipsis, leaving the reader to infer the author's conclusion."
The regular plural is used when referring to multiple distinct instances of omission.
"The editor identified several paralipses in the witness's statement."
Sometimes what is not said changes everything: that omission is paralipsis.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does paralipsis come from?
Paralipsis comes from Greek paráleipsis, meaning “omission” or “a leaving aside,” and is formed from paraleípein, “to leave aside” or “to omit.” Its components are the prefix para-, meaning “beside,” and the root leip-, associated with leaving or omission. The same Greek root produced related terms such as ellipsis and eclipsis.
Related word forms
How paralipsis is actually used
Relatively uncommon and formal, though not restricted to specialist writing. It occurs in discussions of rhetoric, communication, speech production, and written discourse. Paralipsis may describe either an inadvertent omission or a deliberate rhetorical one, depending on context.
Easily confused with paralipsis
Paralipsis is an omission of information or a topic, whereas ellipsis is the omission of words from a sentence, often to create a grammatical break or a pause.