Thymesis

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A rhetorical technique in which a speaker deliberately arouses strong feeling or passion in listeners
2. A figure of speech used to stir up the emotions of an audience, especially through impassioned appeal
3. The act of rousing an audience's passions through rhetoric, a term from classical oratory and persuasion

Etymology: Thymesis is a rhetorical term for the deliberate, sometimes teasing, praise or censure of a person, and its origin is a Greek compound. It comes from Greek "thymos", meaning spirit, passion or the seat of feeling, and the suffix "-sis", a common Greek noun-forming ending that denotes an action or process. The word therefore names the act of stirring up someone's spirit or temper, which is why the figure is most often used to provoke an audience or an opponent. The term was adopted into English as a technical word in rhetorical and literary writing, and it appears in classical-style handbooks of rhetoric. Its use has remained confined to specialist contexts, so it is far less familiar than the figures it sits beside. Its exact date of first English use is uncertain, and the term was coined from classical roots rather than being used by the ancient Greeks in quite this sense.

Synonyms: excitement, agitation

Antonyms: calm, tranquility