noun ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun

1. 1
   The repetition of the same word in a sentence with a different meaning. uncountable
2. 2
   A rhetorical figure resulting from a reverted arrangement in the last clause of a sentence of the two principal words of the clause preceding; inversion of the members of an antithesis: as, ‘A poem is a speaking picture; a picture a mute poem’. wordnet
3. 3
   The inversion of the parts of an antithesis, as in "A poem is a speaking picture; a picture, a mute poem" (Crabbe). uncountable

Etymology

From anti- + metathesis.

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.