Auxesis (figure of speech)

Auxesis (Greek: αὔξησις, aúxēsis) is the Greek word for "growth" or "increase". In rhetoric, it refers to varying forms of increase:

  • hyperbole (overstatement): intentionally overstating a point, its importance, or its significance[1][2][3]
  • climax (ascending series): a series of clauses of increasing force[4]
  • amplificatio (rhetorical increase): extension or exaggerated, needless repetition of arguments to emphasize the point

In ancient Greece, it was also sometimes known as auxanein ("growing").

See also


  1. Encarta World English Dictionary (1999)
  2. The Times English Dictionary (2000)
  3. OED 1st edition
  4. Gideon O. Burton, Brigham Young University Silva Rhetoricae Archived January 22, 2010, at the Wayback Machine