auxesis

Auxesis is a form of hyperbole, in which something is referred to by a term disproportionate to its importance for the very purpose of amplifying that thing's importance or gravity.

It can be contrasted with meiosis and litotes, which make deliberate use of understatement.

Examples

• A lawyer may refer to a scratch as a "wound" or "laceration".
• A book may be referred to as a "volume".
• Referring to a film as a "drama" or an "epic", when the intent is to lend a sense of importance or majesty.
• Calling the body of work that a newcomer has produced in a field a literary canon.

References

• Corbett, Edward P.J. Classical Rhetoric for the Modern Student. Oxford University Press, New York, 1971.

See also

• Figure of speech
• Hyperbole
• Rhetoric

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