zeugma

noun

use of a verb with two or more complements, playing on the verb's polysemy, for humorous effect

Roots

zeugnynaizeugma- · Greek · to yoke, join

Synonyms & related words for zeugma

Find synonyms, related words, and the definition of zeugma. Dendril is a free visual thesaurus that shows them on an interactive map where stronger matches sit closer to the center — no signup, no ads.

Words related to zeugma

Explore words related to zeugma — words associated with it, words that go with it, and its nearest matches in meaning. Related words include zeugmatic, hypozeugma, syllepsis, sylleptic, brachylogy, asyndeton, hendiadys, anacolutha. Click any word to make it the center of the map and keep exploring the web of connections.

Where does zeugma come from?

The word zeugma breaks down into one root of Greek origin: the root zeugma, from Greek zeugnynai (“to yoke, join”). Explore each root to see other English words built from the same source.