noun
- a word or phrase that refers back to another word or phrase used earlier in a text
Usage: linguistics; grammar
Examples
- In the sentence ‘John said he was tired,’ the word ‘he’ is an anaphor referring to ‘John.’
- The pronoun ‘it’ serves as an anaphor for the noun ‘book’ mentioned in the previous sentence.
- Anaphors help avoid repetition by referring back to previously mentioned nouns.
- The linguist explained how anaphors create cohesion in written text.
- Students struggled to identify the anaphor and its antecedent in the complex passage.
- Reflexive pronouns like ‘himself’ can function as anaphors in certain contexts.