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Asyndetic

Adjective
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

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The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

Characterized by the omission of conjunctions between words or phrases

Detailed Definition
Asyndetic describes the deliberate omission of conjunctions between words, phrases, or clauses, creating rapidity, urgency, or stark juxtaposition; in poetry, asyndeton accelerates rhythm and heightens emotional impact, as in Caesar’s "Veni, vidi, vici" or Whitman’s expansive catalogs.
Example
Example in poetry:
Asyndetic: In Ezra Pound’s “In a Station of the Metro,” the asyndetic line “Petals on a wet, black bough” omits conjunctions to create stark, imagistic immediacy.
Additional Notes
Asyndetic: Omission of conjunctions between clauses or phrases (e.g., “I came, I saw, I conquered”); in poetry, creates urgency, fragmentation, or rhythmic acceleration—contrast with polysyndeton (excessive conjunctions).
Also Known As
Connection-free conjunction-less unlinked without connectives
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