Definition of catalexis in US English:
catalexis
noun ˈkadəˌleksəsˈkadəˌleksəs
The absence of a syllable in the last foot of a line or verse.
Example sentencesExamples
- Actually a mixed meter with anapests and iambs and some nice catalexis thrown in.
- Maybe something they've internalized about rhythm leads them to create a catalexis instead of planning out a catalexis ahead of time.
- The poem is in trochaic tetrameter with catalexis at the end of each line.
- The final foot of the fourth line is an example of catalexis, the dropping of one or more unstressed syllables at the end of a line.
- The concept of catalexis and the catalectic verse is important in the study of the anapaestic dimeter.