enantiosis

[ ih-nan-tee-oh-sis ]

noun

, Rhetoric.

, plural en·an·ti·o·ses [ih-nan-tee-, oh, -seez].

1. a figure of speech in which what is meant is the opposite of what is said; irony.

Word History and Origins

Origin of enantiosis¹

First recorded in 1650–60; from Greek enantíōsis “opposition, disagreement, discrepancy,” a derivative of the verb enantioûsthai “to oppose, withstand,” derivative of the adjective enantíos “opposite”;  enantio-, -osis