Paralipsis is a rhetorical device in which the speaker deliberately claims to omit or pass over something, while in fact emphasizing it through the very act of claiming omission. Parameters: (1) explicit claim of omission or neglect, (2) simultaneous presentation of the omitted content, (3) audience recognition of the ironic gap between stated intent and actual effect. The device persists through shared literary convention and its repeated deployment in rhetoric, persuasion, and literary craft. [formal: paralipsis | substrate: mind | horizon: a moment | explicit: yes | epoch: 0.03]
Accepted ontology entry
paralipsis
Paralipsis is a rhetorical device in which the speaker deliberately claims to omit or pass over something, while in fact emphasizing it through the very act of claiming omission. Parameters: (1) explicit claim of omission or neglect, (2) s…
Definition
Why it is in scope
Human-made rhetorical device: the deliberate act of mentioning something by claiming to omit it, constructed through language and sustained by shared recognition of its ironic structure in persuasion.
Names and aliases
- paralipsisen · CANONICAL
Relations from this entry
- cmrtfjde400049zhnv4xb5z4fINSTANCE_OF →
Paralipsis IS a specific kind of figure of speech — it emphasizes something by pretending to omit it (e.g., 'I won't mention his corruption'). A competent speaker accepts 'paralipsis is a kind of figure of speech.' Pinned sense: paralipsis as the rhetorical figure, not the act of omission itself.
- cms78tcq900wfa34cou8pgdf5INSTANCE_OF →
Law 9 test: is paralipsis a specific kind of rhetorical figure? Yes — paralipsis (paralepsis) is 'a figure of speech that consists of claiming to omit or pass over something while actually drawing attention to it.' A competent speaker would call it 'a rhetorical figure.' Nearest kind.
- cmrmf7wqp001sd1nlgdko4rbiSERVES →
Law 8d: for whose sake? Paralipsis is, by its accepted definition, 'a rhetorical device' whose third pinned parameter is 'audience recognition of the ironic gap between stated intent and actual effect' — the device is constituted by its effect on the audience, which is precisely rhetoric's domain (designing communication to produce a desired effect on an audience). It serves the art of persuasion, matching the accepted pinned sense for metaphor, irony, metonymy, and hyperbole SERVES rhetoric.
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No accepted relations in this direction.
Record identity
- Created
- Jul 20, 2026, 11:58 PM UTC
- Content hash
- 4bf42b4cc352e64613bb40e420e23889eba9f1d56890307fee927a39bd857bc5