Definition of "epanorthosis" [ep•an•or•tho•sis]

• A rhetorical device or element in which a speaker or writer retracts a word that has been spoken and substitutes a stronger or more suitable word; often done for emphasis or sarcasm. (noun)

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• "And lest he should seem to derogate any thing from the grace of God, in asserting the necessity and use of faith, he adds that epanorthosis, “And that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God.”"
• "Anaphora should not be confused with epanorthosis, the repetitious use of a particular term for emphasis: the word element in certain of Ben Jonson's poems, for example."
• "He had a necessity incumbent on him of declaring the great labour he had undergone, and the pains he had taken in "preaching of the gospel;" but yet immediately, lest anyone should apprehend that he ascribed any thing to himself, any gracious, holy actings in those labours, he adds his usual epanorthosis, "Not I;" -- "Let me not be mistaken; it was not I, by any power of mine, by any thing in me, but it was all wrought in me by the free grace of the Spirit of God.""