Asyndesis

noun

noun ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    A pattern of spoken or written discourse demonstrating inability or diminished capacity to connect ideas. uncountable
  2. 2
    Synonym of asyndeton: lack or omission of conjunctions, especially for rhetorical effect. rhetoric, uncountable

Etymology

From Latin asyndesis, from Ancient Greek ἀσύνδεσις (asúndesis), from ἀ- (a-, “a-, un-: without”) + σύνδεσις (súndesis, “binding, joining”), from συνδεῖν (sundeîn, “to join, to bind”) + -σῐς (-sĭs, “-sis: forming nouns”), from σῠν- (sŭn-, “together”) + δεῖν (deîn, “to bind, to tie”). Equivalent to a- + syn- + -desis or a- + syndesis.

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