ANTIPHRASIS

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does antiphrasis mean? 

• ANTIPHRASIS (noun)
  The noun ANTIPHRASIS has 1 sense:

1. the use of a word in a sense opposite to its normal sense (especially in irony)

  Familiarity information: ANTIPHRASIS used as a noun is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• ANTIPHRASIS (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

The use of a word in a sense opposite to its normal sense (especially in irony)

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

Hypernyms ("antiphrasis" is a kind of...):

rhetorical device (a use of language that creates a literary effect (but often without regard for literal significance))

Holonyms ("antiphrasis" is a part of...):

irony (a trope that involves incongruity between what is expected and what occurs)