Meanings
plural elenchi
- rhetoricA technique of argument associated with Socrates wherein the arguer asks the interlocutor to agree with a series of premises and conclusions, ending with the arguer's intended point.
The elenchus begins when an interlocutor makes some moral claim that Socrates wishes to examine. The argument then proceeds from premisses that express certain of the interlocutor’s other beliefs to a conclusion that contradicts the original moral claim under scrutiny.
1991, Thomas c. Brickhouse, Nicholas D. Smith, “Socrates’ Elenctic Mission”, in Oxford Studies in Ancient Philosophy, volume IX, Oxford University Press, →ISBN, pages 131–132Synonyms: Socratic method
Synonyms & antonyms
nounA technique of argument associated with Socrates wherein the arguer asks the interlocutor to agree with a series of premises and conclusions, ending with the arguer's intended point.
Origin
- Ancient Greekἔλεγχος“refutation, scrutiny, control”
- Latinelenchus
- Englishelenchus
From Latin elenchus, from Ancient Greek ἔλεγχος (élenkhos, “refutation, scrutiny, control”). Doublet of elench.
More words from Latin, Ancient Greek
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
elenchus. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/elenchus
“elenchus.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/elenchus. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “elenchus,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/elenchus.
Source: elenchus on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.