Definify.com
Webster 1913 Edition
Aporia
‖
A-po′ri-a
,Noun.
pl.
Aporias
. [L., doubt, Gr. [GREEK], fr. [GREEK] without passage, at a loss;
ἀ
priv. + [GREEK] passage.] (Rhet.)
A figure in which the speaker professes to be at a loss what course to pursue, where to begin to end, what to say, etc.
Webster 1828 Edition
Aporia
APO'RIA
,Noun.
1.
In rhetoric, a doubting or being at a loss where to begin, or what to say, on account of the variety of matter.2.
In the medical art, febrile anxiety; uneasiness; restlessness, from obstructed perspiration, or the stoppage of any natural secretion.Definition 2024
aporia
aporia
See also: aporía
English
Noun
aporia (plural aporias)
| Examples (rhetoric) |
|---|
|
But, how can I describe the beauty of the desert? |
- (rhetoric) An expression of deliberation with oneself regarding uncertainty or doubt as to how to proceed.
- 2012, Andy Martin, ‘Text Messenger’, Literary Review 404:
- Meanings are superposed in an aporia – not ‘either/or’, but ‘and/and’.
-
2016, Ian McEwan, Nutshell:
- What they intend sickens and frightens them, and they can never speak of it directly. Instead, wrapped in whispers are ellipses, euphemisms, mumbled aporia followed by throat-clearing and a brisk change of subject.
- 2012, Andy Martin, ‘Text Messenger’, Literary Review 404:
- (philosophy) An insoluble contradiction in a text's meaning; a logical impasse suggested by a text or speaker.
Synonyms
Translations
expression of doubt
contradiction, logical impasse
