the device of suddenly breaking off in the middle of a sentence as if unwilling to continue
Derived forms
aposiopetic (ˌæpəʊˌsaɪəˈpɛtɪk)
adjective
Word origin
C16: via Late Latin from Greek, from aposiōpaein to be totally silent, from siōpaein to be silent
aposiopesis in American English
(ˌæpoʊˌsaɪoʊˈpisɪs; ˌ æpəˌsaɪəˈpisɪs)
noun
a sudden breaking off of a thought in the middle of a sentence as if one were unable or unwilling to continue (Ex.: the horrors I saw there—but I dare not tell them)