Auxesis

noun

noun ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    A rhetorical device whereby the subject matter is made greater, particularly; Overstatement, hyperbole. countable, rhetoric, uncountable

    "Avxesis, when we vse a greater word for a lesse, or thus, when the word is greater then the thing is in deede."

  2. 2
    growth from increase in cell size without cell division wordnet
  3. 3
    A rhetorical device whereby the subject matter is made greater, particularly; Arrangement of a series in ascending order. countable, obsolete, rhetoric, uncountable
  4. 4
    Biological growth, (now usually restricted to) expansion or growth of an organism apart from that due to cellular division. countable, uncountable

    "Auxesis, augmentation, increase."

  5. 5
    The condition of being auxetic countable, uncountable

Synonyms

All synonyms
amplificatioamplificationamplificationclimaxclimaxhyperbole

Example

More examples

"Avxesis, when we vse a greater word for a lesse, or thus, when the word is greater then the thing is in deede."

Etymology

From Ancient Greek αὔξησις (aúxēsis, “growth”), from αὐξάνω (auxánō, “to grow”).

Related phrases

due torhetorical device

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