Metareference
noun ·Rare ·Advanced level
Definitions
- 1 A technique in metafiction whereby a character displays awareness of being part of a dramatic work. countable, uncountable
"The poem's second line, for example, concludes with the lament "but my nerves. Lord these pensive endings." The latter can be read as a play on words, as in "nerve endings"; as a metareference to the end of that particular line; or even against the very end of the poem itself: "the darkness now confronts me . . .""
Example
More examples"The poem's second line, for example, concludes with the lament "but my nerves. Lord these pensive endings." The latter can be read as a play on words, as in "nerve endings"; as a metareference to the end of that particular line; or even against the very end of the poem itself: "the darkness now confronts me . . .""
Etymology
From meta- + reference.
More for "metareference"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.