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anaphora

Meaning

A rhetorical device characterized by the deliberate repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of successive phrases, clauses, or sentences for emphasis.

Examples by difficulty

Basic: Simple, everyday vocabulary — the easiest to read.

He looked at the empty chair. He looked at the closed door. He looked at the silent phone. His heart ached with the sheer anaphora of his unanswered questions, each repetition a fresh stab of grief. Where had she gone?

He stared at the flickering screen, the same urgent message blinking. "We are out of time," it flashed. "We are out of time," the system repeated. This relentless anaphora amplified the dread, each repetition a hammer blow to his hope.

He stared at the cracked screen. He saw the missed calls. He saw the angry texts. This awful anaphora of failure was all he could process, each repetition of his mistakes a heavy blow. He just wanted it to stop.

I will paint your face! I will paint your socks! I will paint your grandma's prize-winning poodle, Sparky, a fetching shade of neon green! This anaphora will ensure everyone remembers Sparky's glorious makeover.

"I will dance," declared the rogue sock. "I will dance like nobody's watching, even though the dryer lint is definitely judging. I will dance with the fearless abandon of a rogue sock, because frankly, this is my one chance at glory before the eventual sock drawer abyss!" This repetition made its commitment clear.

Normal: Standard, everyday language.

We were lost. We had no food. We had no water. This anaphora, the constant echo of our desperation, hammered home our dire situation. We had no hope.

He stared at the tangled wires, the static a low hum. He needed to get it working. He needed to hear that signal. He needed to know if anyone else was out there. This desperate anaphora, the repeated phrases, mirrored the frantic beat of his own heart.

The protestors chanted, their voices rising in unison. "No more silence!" they cried. "No more compromise!" they roared. This powerful anaphora, the repeated "No more," hammered home their unyielding demand for immediate action and made their message impossible to ignore.

My neighbor's incessant singing, my neighbor's incessant singing, my neighbor's incessant singing, it's truly a torture. That repetitive singing, that grating melody, that morning-after-karaoke sound, it's all the same. The sheer *anaphora* of it all is enough to make me question my life choices.

Barnaby, a sentient dust bunny with aspirations of becoming a renowned opera singer, practiced his scales with ferocious dedication. He'd bellow, "I will hit that note! I will reach that crescendo! I will truly move you!" This powerful anaphora, the deliberate repetition, was his secret weapon.

Advanced: Richer vocabulary that stretches an upper-level reader.

The speaker's voice cracked with the weight of his plea. "We need change. We need justice. We need a future for our children." This persistent anaphora, this echoing of "We need," hammered home the urgency of their desperate situation, leaving no doubt about the collective yearning for something more.

The captain's voice, usually measured, cracked with urgency. "We will fight for every inch. We will fight for our homes. We will fight for our future." This powerful anaphora, repeating "We will fight," hammered home their grim resolve.

The captain’s voice, strained with desperation, echoed. "We’ve lost power," she declared, her words a stark anaphora. "We’ve lost communication." "We’ve lost hope," the repeated phrases underscored their dire predicament, each utterance a heavier burden than the last.

He declared, "I will conquer this mountain! I will conquer this hunger! I will conquer this existential dread!" His theatrical anaphora, a rather bombastic display of repetition, certainly made his pronouncements more emphatic. The spectators, however, were mostly preoccupied with finding a decent place to picnic.

The esteemed cheese artisan, renowned for his pungent Stilton, would often begin his pronouncements thusly: “Observe the glorious mold. Observe the velvety rind. Observe the symphony of bovine emancipation.” This deliberate repetition, this anaphora, amplified the aroma of his pronouncements, ensuring no one could possibly ignore the existential weight of mature cheddar.

Challenging: Rare, high-register vocabulary for serious word lovers.

The speaker's lament for their lost homeland was profoundly moving. The sheer force of their grief resonated as they began each subsequent phrase with "We remember." This insistent anaphora, this deliberate repetition, underscored a collective yearning and a shared sorrow that pierced the heart of every listener.

The shaman, facing the encroaching blight, began his incantation. "Protect us from the creeping rot. Protect us from the wilting leaf. Protect us from the poisoned soil." This insistent anaphora, a primal appeal, echoed through the devastated grove, a desperate plea for resilience.

We will not yield. We will not falter. We will not abandon our posts, for the integrity of the sector hinges on this unyielding resolve, a potent anaphora mirroring the unwavering courage of those on the front lines, their sacrifices echoing in the stark, repeated pronouncements of their duty.

Baffled by the orator's verbose peroration, Reginald pondered the peculiar cadence. He recognized the deliberate repetition of "and lo!" at the start of each grandiose declaration, a stratagem the esteemed professor had dubbed anaphora, which served to imbue his pronouncements with an almost preposterous gravitas.

The lamented cephalopod, bereft of its ink sac, delivered a truly abysmal soliloquy. Its lamentations, a veritable anaphora of woe, began with "Oh, the indignity!" and then, "Oh, the indignity!" and finally, a rather uninspired, "Oh, the indignity!" Such protracted self-pity was, frankly, irksome.

Difficulty

Advanced — Less frequent words that stretch an upper-level vocabulary.

Appears in

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