Procatalepsis
noun ·Rare ·Advanced level
Definitions
- 1 A rhetorical exercise in which the speaker raises an objection to his own argument and then immediately answers it, in an attempt to strengthen the argument by dealing with possible counter-arguments. rhetoric
- 2 Rebuttal of anticipated objections. rhetoric
"This long sequence skilfully deploys the rhetorical tropes of procatalepsis and concessio, pre-emption and concession: that is, they concede the accuracy of certain classic attacks on communism, but in ways that redound on their opponents."
- 3 Left dislocation.
Example
More examples"This long sequence skilfully deploys the rhetorical tropes of procatalepsis and concessio, pre-emption and concession: that is, they concede the accuracy of certain classic attacks on communism, but in ways that redound on their opponents."
Etymology
From Latin procatalepsis (“anticipating and answering an objection”), from Ancient Greek προκατάληψις (prokatálēpsis, “seizing in advance”).
Related phrases
More for "procatalepsis"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.