WordNet-Online
Free dictionary and thesaurus of English. Definitions, synonyms, antonyms and more...
Hint: double-click any word to get it searched!

	Enter your search terms Submit search form
	Web www.wordnet-online.com

Definitions from WordNet

Definitions from the Web

Chiasmus

Description:

Chiasmus is a rhetorical device that involves the repetition of words or grammatical structures in a reverse or inverted order. It creates a symmetrical parallelism in a phrase or sentence, commonly used to add emphasis or create memorable statements.

Examples:

As a figure of speech:

"Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country." (John F. Kennedy)

"Fair is foul and foul is fair." (William Shakespeare, Macbeth)

As an inverted structure:

She walked in beauty and beauty in walked she.

He went to the forest; the forest he went to.

Related products:

• Figures of Speech books
• Books on Rhetoric