tapinosis

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noun

A figure of speech whereby something is given less importance by the name given it than it merits.

Similar
abbasermeiosis
OriginLatin tapīnōsis ← Ancient Greek ταπείνωσις →
Scrabble 11
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Meanings

nountapinosis (plural tapinoses)

plural tapinoses

  1. rhetoricA figure of speech whereby something is given less importance by the name given it than it merits.

    Synonyms: abbaser, meiosis

Synonyms & antonyms

nounA figure of speech whereby something is given less importance by the name given it than it merits.

Similar
abbasermeiosis

Origin

  1. Ancient Greekταπείνωσις“lowering”
  2. Latintapīnōsis“depreciation”
  3. Englishtapinosis

Borrowed from Latin tapīnōsis (“depreciation”), itself a borrowing from Ancient Greek ταπείνωσις (tapeínōsis, “lowering”), from ταπεινός (tapeinós, “low”).

More words from Latin, Ancient Greek

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

tapinosis. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/tapinosis

MLA

“tapinosis.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/tapinosis. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “tapinosis,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/tapinosis.

Source: tapinosis on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.