Meanings
nounsynecdoche (countable and uncountable, plural synecdoches)
plural synecdoches · alternative syndoche · alternative synechdoche
- countablerhetoricuncountableA figure of speech that uses the name of a part of something to represent the whole, or the whole to represent a part, or a specific kind or instance to represent the general category, or the general category to represent a specific kind or instance, or the constituent material to represent the thing made from it.
"Holocaust" can become a tired synecdoche for war crimes in general.
2002 Sep, Christopher Hitchens, “Martin Amis: Lightness at Midnight”, in The Atlantic2 more examples
Synecdoche the whole for part will take, Or part for whole, just for the metre's sake.
1835, L[arret] Langley, “[The Seven Tropes.] Synecdoche.”, in A Manual of the Figures of Rhetoric, […], Doncaster, South Yorkshire: […] C. White, […], →OCLC, page 9Perhaps being in a touring band was, to Yorke, a synecdoche for the modern condition: disorientation, alienation, rootlessness, exhaustion, lack of control, occasional derangement, constant motion.
2017 May 17, Dorian Lynskey, “The 20-year-old black mirror that reflects the world today”, in BBC.com Culture
Synonyms & antonyms
nounThe use of this figure of speech.
Similar
Origin
- Ancient Greekσυνεκδοχή“receiving together”
- Latinsynecdochē
- Englishsynecdoche
Borrowed from Latin synecdochē, from Ancient Greek συνεκδοχή (sunekdokhḗ, “receiving together”) from σύν (sún, “with”) + ἐκ (ek, “out of”) + δέχεσθαι (dékhesthai, “to accept”), this last element related to δοκέω (dokéō, “to think, suppose, seem”).
More words from Latin, Ancient Greek
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Afrikaans sinekdogee
- sinekdogeefigure of speech that uses the name of a part of something to represent the whole
Bulgarian сине́кдоха
- сине́кдоха (sinékdoha)figure of speech that uses the name of a part of something to represent the whole
Catalan sinècdoque
- sinècdoquefigure of speech that uses the name of a part of something to represent the whole
Chinese Mandarin 提喻, 提喻法
- 提喻 (tíyù)figure of speech that uses the name of a part of something to represent the whole
- 提喻法 (tíyùfǎ)figure of speech that uses the name of a part of something to represent the whole
Czech synekdocha
- synekdochafigure of speech that uses the name of a part of something to represent the whole
Danish synekdoke
- synekdokefigure of speech that uses the name of a part of something to represent the whole
Dutch synecdoche
- synecdochefigure of speech that uses the name of a part of something to represent the whole
Esperanto sinekdoĥo
- sinekdoĥofigure of speech that uses the name of a part of something to represent the whole
Finnish synekdokee
- synekdokeefigure of speech that uses the name of a part of something to represent the whole
French synecdoque
- synecdoquefigure of speech that uses the name of a part of something to represent the whole
German Synekdoche
- Synekdochefigure of speech that uses the name of a part of something to represent the whole
Greek συνεκδοχή
- συνεκδοχή (synekdochí)figure of speech that uses the name of a part of something to represent the whole
Hebrew סִינֶקְדּוֹכָה
- סִינֶקְדּוֹכָה (sinekdokha)figure of speech that uses the name of a part of something to represent the whole
Hindi सिनेकडकी
- सिनेकडकी (sinekḍakī)figure of speech that uses the name of a part of something to represent the whole
Hungarian szinekdoché
- szinekdochéfigure of speech that uses the name of a part of something to represent the whole
Italian sineddoche
- sineddochefigure of speech that uses the name of a part of something to represent the whole
Japanese 提喩, 提喩法
- 提喩 (teiyu)figure of speech that uses the name of a part of something to represent the whole
- 提喩法 (teiyuhō)figure of speech that uses the name of a part of something to represent the whole
Korean 제유, 제유법
- 제유 (jeyu)figure of speech that uses the name of a part of something to represent the whole
- 제유법 (jeyubeop)figure of speech that uses the name of a part of something to represent the whole
Lithuanian sinekdocha
- sinekdochafigure of speech that uses the name of a part of something to represent the whole
Polish synekdocha
- synekdochafigure of speech that uses the name of a part of something to represent the whole
Portuguese sinédoque
- sinédoquefigure of speech that uses the name of a part of something to represent the whole
Romanian sinecdocă
- sinecdocăfigure of speech that uses the name of a part of something to represent the whole
Russian сине́кдоха
- сине́кдоха (sinékdoxa)figure of speech that uses the name of a part of something to represent the whole
Slovak synekdocha
- synekdochafigure of speech that uses the name of a part of something to represent the whole
Spanish sinécdoque
- sinécdoquefigure of speech that uses the name of a part of something to represent the whole
Swedish synekdoke
- synekdokefigure of speech that uses the name of a part of something to represent the whole
Tagalog halisakop
- halisakopfigure of speech that uses the name of a part of something to represent the whole
Tamil ஆகுபெயர்
- ஆகுபெயர் (ākupeyar)figure of speech that uses the name of a part of something to represent the whole
Thai สัมพจนัย
- สัมพจนัย (sǎm-pót-jà-nai)figure of speech that uses the name of a part of something to represent the whole
Turkish sinekdoş
- sinekdoşfigure of speech that uses the name of a part of something to represent the whole
Ukrainian сине́кдоха
- сине́кдоха (synékdoxa)figure of speech that uses the name of a part of something to represent the whole
Vietnamese cải dung
- cải dungfigure of speech that uses the name of a part of something to represent the whole
Cite this entry
APA
synecdoche. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/synecdoche
MLA
“synecdoche.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/synecdoche. Accessed November 4, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “synecdoche,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/synecdoche.
Source: synecdoche on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.