1. A sudden breaking off in the middle of a sentence, leaving the thought unfinished; an abrupt silence or pause for rhetorical effect.
Usage: literary and rhetorical term; from Greek, meaning 'becoming silent'

Examples

• The speaker used aposiopesis when she said, 'If you think I'm going to stand here and—' before walking away.
• In the poem, the line ends with 'And then he saw the truth about his father, which was…' creating an aposiopesis that leaves readers in suspense.
• The character's angry outburst—'I can't believe you would—' followed by silence—was an example of aposiopesis.
• Aposiopesis is often used in drama to suggest strong emotion or to make the audience fill in the blanks.
• The advertisement ended with 'Our new product will change your life in ways you never…' using aposiopesis to create curiosity.