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Figures of speech

Asyndeton

Removal of conjunctions between coordinated clauses or terms: I came, I saw, I conquered.

Asyndeton removes coordinating conjunctions (and, but, for…) between elements that would normally call for them: "I came, I saw, I conquered." Stripped of binder, the clauses collide; the rhythm turns dry, percussive, final.

It suits action scenes, moments of tension, laconic voices. Its exact opposite is polysyndeton, which multiplies the links. Both figures work the same material — the sentence's breath — in opposite directions: asyndeton cuts the breath short, polysyndeton extends it indefinitely.

Example

"He opened the door, dropped his bag, understood."

Put it into practice

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