synecdoche

Advancedzipf 2.00

Pronunciation

/sɪˈnɛkdəki/(sih-NEK-duh-kee)

Part of speech

nounformal/rhetoric

Chinese

提喻法（以部分代整体或整体代部分）

Definition

A figure of speech in which a part is used for the whole or the whole for a part.

Word family

  • synecdochic/ˌsɪnɛkˈdɒkɪk/(adj)提喻的

Collocations

  • example of synecdoche
  • use synecdoche
  • rhetorical synecdoche
  • a synecdoche for

Examples

  1. 1."All hands on deck" is a synecdoche — "hands" refers to the whole sailors. (part for whole)
  2. 2."The White House announced" is synecdoche — the building stands for the entire administration. (place for people)

Synonyms

  • metonymy/mɪˈtɒnɪmi/— substituting related term — broader
  • figure of speech /ˌfɪɡər əv ˈspiːtʃ/ (non-literal expression)

Etymology

from Greek "synekdoche" — syn- (together) + ekdekhesthai (to take up) — taking one thing to mean another