Meaning & use
asyndeton
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Meaning
nouncountable or uncountable
A style of writing or speech in which the linking words, such as "and" or "or", are left out of a list or series so the parts follow one another directly.
Grammar: Uncountable for the technique in general (use of asyndeton), countable for one instance (an asyndeton in the final line).
Patterns
- asyndeton in something
- use asyndeton to do something
The coach's speech relied on asyndeton: we train, we sweat, we win.
Students were asked to find an example of asyndeton in the opening paragraph.
Writers often choose asyndeton when they want a list to sound urgent and forceful.
Word forms
| plural | asyndetons |
|---|---|
| plural | asyndeta |
Common combinations
- use asyndeton
- The author uses asyndeton to make the battle scene feel breathless.
- example of asyndeton
- "I came, I saw, I conquered" is a famous example of asyndeton.
- rhetorical asyndeton
- Her rhetorical asyndeton gave the slogan a hammering rhythm.
- effect of asyndeton
- The effect of asyndeton here is to make the list feel unfinished and open.
- asyndeton and polysyndeton
- The teacher compared asyndeton and polysyndeton using two short passages.
Synonyms and how they differ
- omission of conjunctions
- This is a plain-language description of the same thing, whereas asyndeton is the technical name you would use in literary analysis.
- parataxis
- Parataxis is broader, covering any placing of clauses side by side without subordination, while asyndeton is specifically about leaving out the linking word.
- ellipsis
- Ellipsis leaves out any understood words, not only conjunctions, so it is a wider term than asyndeton.
Opposites
Word family
- asyndetic adjective
- describing a list or sentence that has no conjunctions
- asyndetically adverb
- in a way that leaves out conjunctions
- syndeton noun
- a rare term for the joining of items with conjunctions
Commonly confused: asyndeton or polysyndeton? asyndeton or anacoluthon?
asyndeton vs polysyndeton
Polysyndeton is the opposite device, repeating conjunctions ("and... and... and") to slow the rhythm, whereas asyndeton removes them.
asyndeton vs anacoluthon
Anacoluthon is a sentence that changes grammatical direction midway, which is unrelated to simply dropping conjunctions.
Practice
Which sentence is the clearest example of asyndeton?
Choose one answer.
Asyndeton is a list with the conjunctions left out, which is exactly what the second option does. The first option repeats "and" (polysyndeton), which is the opposite device.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “asyndeton”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.