apostrophize

Address the absent

Apostrophize means to address someone or something directly in speech or writing, especially when the person or thing is absent, imaginary, or abstract.

This rhetorical device appears frequently in poetry and drama: O Death, where is thy sting?

The verb can also mean to insert an apostrophe into a word, though this sense is far less common.

The related noun apostrophe names both the punctuation mark and the rhetorical figure of direct address.

address

invocation

Calling upon higher authority

exclamationForceful sudden utterance
entreatyEarnest, urgent request
appealFormal review request

supplication · plea · imploration · salutation · hail · summons · outcry · interjection · ejaculation · declamation

dramatic

soliloquy

Dramatic speech to oneself

monologueUninterrupted solo address
asideBrief theatrical digression
declaimSpeak rhetorically, dramatically

emote · theatrical · stage · actor · performance · scene · melodrama · histrionics · oration · recitation

personify

personification

Attributing humanity to non-humans

anthropomorphismAttributing personality to things
abstractionDistilling to essential qualities
allegorySymbolic tale with deeper meaning

embodiment · metaphor · symbol · conceit · figuration · muse · nature · death · love · fate

literary

ode

Laudatory verse form

elegyPoem lamenting the departed
verseMetered poetic passage
lyricSong's text

stanza · poetry · sonnet · ballad · rhapsody · paean · lament · dirge · hymn · invocation

Opposites

rhetorical address mode

apostrophizeconverse

Engage in dialogue

dialogue · talk to

conversational directness

apostrophizespeak plainly

chat · converse · discuss · talk

Family

possessive, apostrophe, possessively, apostrophes

Familiarity: Top 1,000,000
Profile: Used worldwide · Timeless · Abstract · Rated G